New Classical Tracks with Julie Amacher: Recent Episodes
American Public Media
Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu – From Method to Madness: The American Sound (Albany)
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New Classical Tracks - Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu
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“I just love to play with Clancy because he challenges my mind,” pianist Natalie Zhu says. “This program was Clancy's idea. When I tried to plan for my festival, I asked Clancy if we should play a cello recital together. I asked him, ‘What do you want to play?’ And he came up with this program. I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, I don't know any of the pieces on the program.’ I had to learn every piece.”
Zhu and cellist Clancy Newman have been performing together for over 20 years. During the pandemic lockdown, they created a virtual recital that evolved into their debut recording, From Method to Madness: The American Sound.
Newman: “Natalie has always been very kind to go along with whatever I'm doing. She's so open-minded and willing to try whatever I might suggest. Playing with Natalie, I feel like I can do anything, and I have the freedom to be myself."
This recording relates and showcases the element of friendship and/or collaboration between composers, performers and friends. And this was a time when you had to really be creative about how you were having those collaborations. How did this come together during the global pandemic?
Newman: “The From Method to Madness part is the title of my composition that's on the album. And I thought, there's something about the idea of From Method to Madness that encapsulates both art in general and music. I think it reflects the idea that you need to have both the passion, which you could say is the madness, the irrational element and the emotion, but also the discipline, using some sort of method and structure.
“You can see the madness in America certainly now. There's also these sweeping melodies that I think of as part of what America has — not to be cliché, but with the mountains and the valleys and just the beauty of America.”
You wrote the title track in 2008, yet this is the first time you've recorded it. Why was it the last piece on the recording rather than maybe the opening piece?
Newman: “The piece is 5 minutes long, and it's basically just one huge crescendo all the way to the end. It's a little bit like a cup of water boiling. And then gradually it starts to bubble until finally it's just boiling and boiling over onto the stove. And I think that this piece has that excitement to it. And I guess I thought it would be a good way to end the album after beginning it with the Barber sonata that starts in a more conventional and romantic manner.”
Clancy, you gave the premiere performance of composer Kenji Bunch’s Broken Music in 2003 at Lincoln Center. It is a piece that was written for you, and again, this is the first time you've recorded it.
Newman: “In 2001, I won the Naumberg Competition. Part of winning that was that I would get to premiere a piece that Naumberg would commission. By sheer luck, Naumberg chose Kenji to write the piece, and I knew Kenji because we were at Juilliard together. Every time I've ever performed it, it's always the audience’s favorite thing on the program.”
Natalie, what strikes you about the piece Broken Music? Is there a section that is especially powerful to you?
Zhu: “My favorite movement would be the “Broken Verse,” which is the slow third movement of the piece. It just touches your heart. It’s sad and it's lonely, but at the same time, at the very end I am still hopeful. The first moment I heard the piece, it took me somewhere else. Even though it is sad, it comforts me in some way.
“Actually, it made me think about my childhood. I immigrated to America from China. I came to America when I was, I think, 10. America is a completely different place, and I feel like this piece really brings back those great memories in my life.”
Listen on YouTube
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources
Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu – From Method to Madness: The American Sound (Amazon)
Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu – From Method to Madness: The American Sound (Albany)
Clancy Newman (official site)
Sphinx Virtuosi – Songs for Our Times (Deutsche Grammophon)
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New Classical Tracks - Andre Dowell, Sphinx Virtuosi
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“My role with the organization as the chief of artist engagement is to really understand the talent that is out there and to be able to recruit the musicians who perform with the Sphinx Virtuosi,” Andre Dowell says. “Community engagement, in terms of how they are engaging their community, not just the youth, but also their audiences and educating them about our mission, which is transforming life through the power of diversity in the arts.”
For the past 15 years, Dowell has watched the Sphinx Organization evolve as it strives for and achieves that mission. One way in which it’s doing that is with a professional, self-conducted touring ensemble of 18 members made up of freelance musicians and professors at universities. That ensemble is Sphinx Virtuosi, which has just released its debut recording, Songs for Our Times.
“Over the past couple of years, we've had the great opportunity to have our programs be comprised solely of musicians who are Black or Latino. Because of that, we really wanted to have an album out that represented not only the Sphinx Organization, but the Sphinx Virtuosi. One thing that you'll find with our debut album is that every composer is a composer of color.”
Why is this title, Songs for Our Times, so significant?
“Songs for Our Times really digs into composers that we've worked with in the past, celebrating artists and composers who have paved the way. We talk about Florence Price, for example. We talk about Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman, Carlos Simon, and we have a great arrangement of Beethoven's Bridgetower by Rubén Rengel.Songs for Our Times goes into the past, the rich history of the Sphinx organization, and explores how that intertwines with the composers of today.
The album opens with Global Warming, by Michael Abels, who won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Can you talk about the history of this piece and why it fits in so well with this debut recording?
“This piece really inspired us to feature Michael Abels as a composer. This piece just captures so perfectly what it means to be in this world today and going through COVID-19 and the pandemic. And what you'll find on the CD is George Floyd in the aftermath of that, in terms of what it means to reflect in this world today.”
Watch on YouTube
There's an unusual time signature in the piece by Ricardo Hertz. It's called Sisyphus in the Big City. Why do we have this 25/16 time signature?
“It is great. And if you listen to the music enough, you'll be able to understand and feel the rhythmic structure of it. We have the great opportunity to play this piece in Brazil with Ricardo himself. It’s something that requires a lot of communication in terms of being able to play that type of time signatures while also keeping the groove.”
Valerie Coleman's two-movement piece, Tracing Visions, is on this recording, and each of the movements is so powerful. Would you share the story behind them?
“The first movement we talk about Emmett Till and other victims of domestic violence or terrorism, if you will. It's a remembrance of those times. And it ends with the second movement, which means power and is a celebration of where we have come in our society. And she takes this motif and really expands it to uplift the work that has been done, and that we continue to do, and the fight that we continue to have in our society.”
Listen on YouTube
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources
Sphinx Virtuosi – Songs for Our Times (Amazon)
Sphinx Virtuosi – Songs for Our Times (Deutsche Grammophon)
Sphinx Virtuosi (official site)
Gabriel Olafs and Steiney Sigurðardóttir: Lullabies for Piano and Cello (Decca)
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New Classical Tracks - Gabriel Olafs
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“When you write a pop song today, you want it to be catchy. But with folk music, you want it to be catchy for hundreds of years. You need it to survive. I really like that,” pianist Gabríel Ólafs says. “I thought that was intriguing. And I thought of this idea of challenging myself to write new ‘folk melodies’ or new lullabies.”
That’s the idea behind the third recording from the 24-year-old Icelandic pianist, featuring cellist Steiney Sigurðardóttir. It’s a collection of lullabies for cello and piano based on Icelandic folk songs. The pieces were inspired by a collection of melodies he discovered in an antique book shop in Reykjavik, Iceland.
“I'm on a list at this old bookstore, and they often call me for stuff that comes in. And when they called about this one, I recognized it as something that I learned about in school studying music in Iceland. I had totally forgotten about it, and I had never seen the book. It’s quite rare, this book itself.
“It contains our most important piece of musical history in Iceland. Basically, it was a priest that toured the country and collected them from families and churches, and he went to every part of Iceland around the island, and he collected these melodies. And I think what captured me was that many of these melodies, as I was just reading them and playing them on the piano, I thought they were surprisingly catchy.”
How did you decide which ones you were going record?
“I noticed very early on that most of the melodies that I really liked, my immediate favorites, were lullabies. I picked a combination of some lesser-known ones that I found for the first time in the music score, but then I also picked some that I recognized and were personally my favorites.
“For example, Mama, which means mother or mom in Icelandic, is probably our most celebrated and common lullaby here in Iceland. And it's one that my mom, or rather my parents, would sing to me.
“The opening track is called Fantasia, which is an original melody. It is sort of inspired by the Celtic side of Icelandic musical heritage. We have a sort of Irish Celtic population that arrived early on and very much influenced the musical sound of the Vikings, and it also celebrates my love of fantasy. I'm a huge nerd, and I've recently been able to admit this publicly. I'm really into The Lord of the Rings books.”
Why is nostalgia important to you as you create your music?
“Because of the nuance in this feeling of nostalgia. If you try to express nostalgia or create a nostalgic feeling in a piece of music, I feel like it translates well because of this nuance, because it's not too on the nose of a feeling. Ever since I started writing, I do very much chase a feeling of nostalgia in many of my pieces.
“I would describe this record as maybe an a la carte menu. You know, in cooking, you can make a really complicated big dish, and it's amazing, but you can also make a really complicated big dish that doesn't taste very good. What I discovered about myself is me wanting to create a musical a la carte menu, where every small little dish does satisfy you.”
Gabríel Ólafs - Lullabies for Piano and Cello ft. Steiney Sigurðardóttir
Resources
Gabríel Ólafs and Steiney Sigurðardóttir: Lullabies for Piano and Cello - (Amazon)
Gabríel Ólafs - official website
Joshua Bell, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and Tsung Yeh: Butterfly Lovers (Sony Classical)
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New Classical Tracks - Joshua Bell
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Joshua Bell is a world-class violinist who has also been music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields since 2011. With all his years of experience, it might be difficult to imagine insecurities creeping in on occasion.
But that’s precisely what happened during the making of his latest recording, Butterfly Lovers, with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.
“To tell you the truth, I was a bit scared to walk out on stage at the first rehearsal,” Bell says. “[But] it was just very heartwarming, the reception I got from the orchestra and that sense of acceptance from a different culture.”
In 2018, you said, “My new favorite orchestra besides the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in London is the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.” What do you love about this orchestra?
“I first went to them about seven years ago. At the time, they said, ‘We have these arrangements for Chinese orchestra, using Chinese instruments, of some classic violin pieces, like Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso,by Saint-Saens, and Zigeunerweisen, by Sarasate.’ I fell in love with the unique sound of a Chinese orchestra, with instruments like the pipa and the erhu. It was thrilling.”
When did you decide you wanted to play Butterfly Lovers with the orchestra?
“For years, I didn't take the time to really get to know the piece. I just kept hearing about it and then finally sat down and listened to it with the music. It is a gorgeous piece of music. And I had this new relationship with the Chinese orchestra in Singapore, and I thought the stars were aligned for me to learn this piece and to play with my new friends in Singapore. And that's what happened.”
I know that you also have a special relationship with the conductor with whom you're working on this project and that you met him early in your career. How did you develop that relationship along the way?
“Maestro Tsung Yeh and I actually met a few decades ago. He was the one who brought me to Singapore. The musical language of the Butterfly Lovers is rooted in the Chinese sound of Chinese instruments, although it's a weird hybrid of a piece in that it was ironically written for Western instruments in Western orchestra about 50 years ago. In our case, we've actually reverse engineered it back to Chinese instruments and Chinese orchestra.”
What is the history of this piece, and why is it so popular and beloved?
“The easiest way to describe the Butterfly Lovers is sort of like the Chinese Romeo and Juliet. It’s about a young Chinese woman who wants to study during a time where girls were not encouraged to study. So she dresses up as a boy to go study at the school, and she meets a boy who becomes her best friend. But she's secretly falling in love with him and he doesn't know that she's a girl.
“The truth eventually comes out and they fall in love, but she's been betrothed to someone else. And because of this he becomes heartbroken, falls ill and dies. So on her wedding day, heartbroken that she's not with the man she loves, she decides to dig into his grave and out of the grave emerge two butterflies.
“When I first heard it, I got goosebumps because the melody is so beautiful and it's very descriptive music. You can hear the strife between the families and all the longing. In the end, it's the two butterflies going away together, and you can feel all those things in the music.”
Is there a moment in this work that really gets you every time you play it?
“At the very end, the culmination of the piece features the opening melody, originally played by the violin solo, now with the whole orchestra, so 30 players playing in unison. It's quite dramatic, and it's one of the moments that first gave me goose bumps.”
Joshua Bell - Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto: Allegro (Official Video)
Resources
Joshua Bell, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and Tsung Yeh: Butterfly Lovers - (Amazon)
Joshua Bell - official website
Singapore Chinese Orchestra - official website
Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick: And So Flows the River (Flowerpot Productions)
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New Classical Tracks - Carolyn Surrick & Ronn McFarlane
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“The music that we're doing is music that's really a part of us,” viola da gamba player Carolyn Surrick says. “It's like music inside of us, the way that the deciduous forest is inside of us, because this is where we're from.”
Surrick and Ronn McFarlane have both lived in Maryland for most of their lives. Their careers have run somewhat parallel, with Surrick playing viola da gamba in the Ensemble Galilei, which she founded in 1990, and McFarlane playing lute with the Baltimore Consort and the folk trio Ayreheart, the ensemble he founded. Three years ago, when touring came to a halt during the global pandemic, they finally had the time to make music together, and they’ve been doing so ever since. They’ve just released their third recording, And So Flows the River.
Surrick: “This is the music of our lives. We're both over 60, and we’ve had a lot of time to incorporate music into our lives, to have music become central to our being. And so I wanted to bring the idea that as our lives are flowing along, we're accumulating music, we're accumulating things that we love along the way and bringing them to this project.”
How did you decide on the title And So Flows the River? How does it reflect what we're hearing on the recording?
McFarlane: “In terms of flowing, the repertory itself was a real flow state for each of us. It brought music that each of us loved, regardless of the genre that it came from. So I think we kind of get into a flow state when we're deciding what to play, bringing up pieces from any memory, any part of our lives, anything we might have heard of, or maybe we're just discovering something for the first time.”
The album features Erik Satie’s Gymnopedies. What is your relationship to the pieces?
Surrick: “I think we both remember hearing them for the first time in the 1970s and thinking this music is so special. I mean, so simple and so beautiful. It has so much in it. So when we were casting about for what to put on this new recording, I said, ‘what about the Gymnopedies?’ And it was kind of like, ‘Well, why not?’”
McFarlane: “My first experience of them was in the 1970s, but I didn't hear it on the piano at first. I heard it live in a guitar recital played by Christopher Parkening, who made some excellent arrangements of them. But I was so captivated hearing the first Gymnopedie for the first time that I really fell in love with it.”
You both also heard about Bach’s Sinfonia in the 1970s. What is your relationship with that piece?
McFarlane: “Yes, I first heard it when I went to a record store. That was back when they had records around 1968 or ‘69. I got the first Led Zeppelin album and the Walter Carlos, now Wendy Carlos, album Switched-On Bach. So I first heard this on a synthesizer with all its boops and beeps and whistles. So I think my idea of how it ought to sound was permanently skewed by hearing it that way. And it just sounded so fresh and great.”
And now you have added your own arrangement of the piece, which you described as a revelation. Why did you describe it that way?
Surrick: “We sat down to play it, and there was so much happening. You almost can't imagine that these two instruments could be doing all of this at the same time.”
And you have a percussionist on the recording?
Surrick: “Yes. Yousif Sheronick. He's fabulous. And so I call him up out of the blue, and he's like, ‘Yeah, cool. I'm free.’”
Give me an example of his playing in this recording that you want to make sure we don't miss.
McFarlane: “Well, I think the very first piece, W. Lee’s Reel, where Yusif is playing an ocean drum, is a great one.
“This piece has kind of a Scotch-Irish flavor to it, which reflects my dad's background. It's a sort of adventurous piece because it has something in the flute part that sounds like a propulsive fiddle tune in the Scotch-Irish tradition. And yet that's not the lead voice. You would think so because of the beginning. But as it goes along, the gamba comes in and actually has the melody as the slower moving part. Somehow, it seemed to fit the personality of my dad.”
W. Lee's Reel
Resources
Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick - And So Flows the River (Amazon)
Carolyn Surrick - official website
Ronn McFarlane - official website
Hilary Hahn - Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Violin (Deutsche Grammophon)Jump to giveaway form
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New Classical Tracks - Hilary Hahn
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“This was my grand homage. And I really put so much love and time and energy and respect into the recording,” violinist Hilary Hahn says. “I really wanted to focus on that aspect, almost like giving a gift to a relative on their birthday. This is my gift to my musical grandfather on his hundredth birthday.”
Hahn is talking about her new recording featuring the violin sonatas of Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe. He composed these masterpieces 100 years ago this month. Each one was dedicated to a top violinist of the day.
“I am one generation removed from him musically. He was born in the 1850s. I was born in 1979, but my teacher was born in 1907 and studied with him. So there was something about listening to him, listening to the early recordings of his I when I hadn't heard them for a while, that was very surprising for me.
“I have spent most of my career trying to get closer to my own way of playing, my own sense of expression and my own sense of freedom within the instrument. And I realized that instead of getting closer to myself as an individual, I've gotten closer to myself as part of a long history. Because when I heard Ysaÿe, it was like opening a box in your grandparents attic and looking at a photo of an ancestor. But it is also like looking in the mirror, because they might be wearing different clothing but there's something about them that's just like you.
“While listening to his recordings, I realized there is musical DNA. Somehow, deep in my soul, I have internalized a set of values in my playing that I must have inherited.
“Ysaÿe also wanted to lift up some incredible violinists of his day, and he dedicated these sonatas to several of those. I don't know if it's obvious to the listener or the performer, but the deeper you get into the pieces, the more you realize it's customized for different players. The feeling of playing the instrument is different in each piece, and it's a bit of an insight into what it must have felt like to be that person. Also, there are lots of hidden messages in these pieces that were never written down in the music. So it's kind of a little game of Clue.
“A very good example of that is the beginning of the Sonata No. 2, Obsession, which was dedicated to a violinist who played fast but also practiced in a very fragmented way. So he would kind of start with one thing and quickly work on a phrase of something else and go back to the other thing. A sort of free-flowing mentality is in practice that Ysaÿe brings that into his writing for that particular violinist.”
You said listening back to yourself playing these pieces gave you goose bumps. What were you hearing that caused that?
“I think the most goose bumpy thing for me was just listening to Ysaÿe’s own playing and then getting as close as I wanted to these pieces in a total immersion studio situation. Listening to the playback and drawing these connections back to the past, but also knowing that what I do now is very much geared toward the future. And so that feeling of inheriting this sense of mission, of passing things on from the past to the future generations.”
Ysaÿe: 6 Sonatas for Violin Solo, Op. 27 - Sonata No. 6 in E Major
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Giveaway
Maya Beiser New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources
Hilary Hahn - Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Violin (Deutsche Grammophon)
Hilary Hahn - Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Violin (Amazon)
Maya Beiser – InfInIte Bach: J.S. Bach’s Six Cello Suites (Islandia Music Records)Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Maya Beiser
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“I'll never forget. I think I was 10. My father said, ‘Maya, you have to decide: It's Carnegie Hall or Wimbledon,’” cellist Maya Beiser says, “And I remember telling him, ‘I don't think it's going to be Wimbledon, so why don't we do Carnegie Hall?’”
Beiser did not disappoint her father. She has performed at Carnegie Hall many times over the years. She admits her father wasn’t all that keen on the crazy contemporary music for which she’s best known. However, he would have loved her latest recording, which is why she dedicated it to him. It’s called Infinite Bach,’ and it features the composer’s famous cello suites.
“The earliest musical memory that I have is of Bach, specifically the Bach cello suites,” she says. “I grew up in the northern part of Israel, in the Galilee, at a time where there was constant threat of war. And we spent actually a lot of time in shelters during my early childhood. I grew up in a commune. It was called a kibbutz.
“And my father would always just listen to music. He bought this old recording of Pablo Casals performing the cello suites, and that is the earliest memory of my childhood, is the pleasure of just listening to that music in my parents’ little house. It was the sense of safety and the connection that music always had for love.
“I never thought I was going to record the Bach suites, because I always felt that there were enough recordings out there. There were wonderful cellists who have already done that, and I felt that I had a different mission. I'm 60 now. So it was kind of a big, momentous moment. For years, I had to juggle being a mother and a partner and all these things, and then the pandemic. During that time, my partner and I found this house in the Berkshires. We just fell in love with that place because it was inspiring. It had this separate converted barn; it just had the most incredible acoustics.
“The first day I was there, I just took my cello and I sat in the middle of this empty space and just started to play the Bach suites. I all of a sudden realized that this is what I want to do for the next year. I imagined the cello as this sort of giant organ that takes over, and I wanted to create all these different reverbs and delays, but without any artificial electronics. I wanted everything to be acoustic.”
You say in your liner notes that some believe the suites bear a whisper of Bach’s wife. Why did you include this?
“All my teachers were men; all my mentors were men. And they always told me, you need to listen to Pablo Casals and Rostropovich and Pierre Fournier. I can give you the list. They were all older men. There was no model of how a woman would think of this music.
“There are people who claim that Anna Magdalena, Bach’s wife, was actually the one who wrote the suites. And whether it’s true or not, the idea intrigued me. So I just liked to think about it as if I'm presenting a feminine Bach.”
Maya Beiser: InfInIte Bach (Official Music Video) Water, The Prelude in D minor
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Giveaway
Maya Beiser New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Maya Beiser – Infinite Bach: J.S. Bach’s Six Cello Suites (Islandia Music Records)
Maya Beiser – Infinite Bach: J.S. Bach’s Six Cello Suites (Amazon)
Maya Beiser (official site)
Michelle Cann – Revival: Music of Price and Bonds (Curtis Studio)Jump to giveaway form
Pianist Michelle Cann has had a pretty incredible journey. Her path into the world of piano led her to the Cleveland Institute and the Curtis Institute of Music, which is where she teaches. In 2022, she was the recipient of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence. Now, her journey goes down another life-changing path with the release of her debut recording, Revival: Music of Price and Bonds.
“Growing up, I didn't play any music by any Black composers other than church music. Nothing in the classical field was really ever assigned to me. I wasn't really aware of anyone except for Scott Joplin,” Cann says. “And it wasn't until 2016 that I was introduced to the Florence Price Piano Concerto and I was asked to play it. I'd never heard of her, never heard of the piece, and I read through it. You can only imagine that moment and put yourself in my shoes. I've never been aware of somebody like her in this field.
“And I remember, at that point, I was reading her story. I was looking for anything I could find about her. I was looking to see, ‘What else did she write?’ And then one of the things that was out there at that time was her piano sonata. How have I never heard of this piano sonata? I’m a pianist!
“I remember exactly where I was, sitting at the piano in my apartment at the time, and I was reading through it and there were tears going down my eyes. One of the most beautiful things ever written for piano is the second movement of that piano sonata. And I called my mother and I was emotional and my mom was getting emotional because I asked myself, ‘How could they deny this woman her place in history? Why did no one know to share this with me?’
“It was from there that I came across Margaret Bonds. I read that Margaret Bonds was actually one of Florence Price's most successful students. They met because Price moved to Chicago alone. She moved from Little Rock, Arkansas. She had kids, was divorced and had no connections. She was just starting to make them. And one of them was with the Bonds family. They actually took her in.
“And Margaret Bond, of course, had her own story. She went on to become a great composer and pianist, and she premiered many of Florence Price's works as a performer. She didn't write as much for solo piano, not like Price. One of her most influential and important works is the Spiritual Suite, which is on this album. I had to include the suite because it is just so great what she does with these spirituals.”
What do you feel like you personally bring to their music as a pianist?
“I feel that I am on this journey with these composers, and the final thing I feel is a huge sense of pride. I feel so honored to be one of the conduits of their story.
“So being part of this rediscovery and excitement about their story and their music and their voice in America that is everything to me. And when I perform their music, I perform it with that knowledge and that pride.
“Because if I can do anything with this album, it’s to share this music with the world. These women deserve a place in the canon of great American classical music.”
Spiritual Suite: I. Valley of the Bones
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Giveaway
Michelle Cann New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Michelle Cann – Revival: Music of Price and Bonds (Curtis Studio)
Michelle Cann (official site)
Ashley Jackson and the Harlem Chamber Players – Ennanga (Bright Shiny Things)Jump to giveaway form
“I started thinking about this album in the summer of 2020. We were still living in Harlem, and the protests were happening just outside of our street,” harpist Ashley Jackson says, “And I really remember sitting and practicing and thinking, ‘What can I put on my music stand that's going to be able to speak to what's happening right now?’”
Jackson is an assistant professor of music at Hunter College. She commutes to New York City once a week from her home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That gives her time to hang out with the Harlem Chamber Players, who join her on her debut recording, Ennanga.
“I started [playing] African American spirituals. For me, they're America’s first performing art form. We have so many different genres of music that stem from them.” Jackson says, “I started with two spiritual arrangements by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and then I wanted to branch out to other genres. And so that's why I have a mixture. I have a piece by Alice Coltrane called Prima, and, of course, Ennanga,by William Grant Still.
“Ennanga as a piece that takes us on a journey through different American musical styles. And that's really what I was trying to go for in this debut album. Ennanga itself is a type of Ugandan harp, and I really wanted to focus and have listeners think about not only the African American roots of American music, but the West African roots of American music.”
The album opens with a recording of a piece by Alice Coltrane. What inspired you to include it?
“In the fall of 2018, I had the opportunity to perform an arrangement of Prima with the Urban Playground Orchestra, and it was one of those pieces where I thought, ‘I'm not finished with it, I still have more learning to do.’ So fast forward to now and I'm planning the concept of the album. I take out Prima and I'm thinking about the summer of 2020 and moments of healing and justice, and prima means love, pure love for the divine, which completely melts the heart. So, I said, this piece has to be on here.”
There is a piece by composer and harpist Brandy Younger called Essence of Ruby in this album. Could you tell more about her and this piece?
“She's one of my harp sisters. Starting in 2020, she started to release solo harp arrangements of her compositions and I was really excited. I thought, yes, finally, something she’s composed that I can play, and Essence of Ruby was one of them. And I love the piece. I loved the groove-based rhythm that it has and I love how it draws from not only jazz but R&B, and that's my musical DNA, that's the music I grew up listening to.”
There are two African American spirituals on this recording by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. One is called I'm Troubled in Mind, and it is the last track of the album. Why did you decide to close the recording with this piece?
“It’s one of those rare spirituals that uses the first person. ‘I'm troubled in mind’ speaks so clearly and plainly to how the enslaved channeled grief and pain on a daily basis. ‘The angels changed my name. I looked at my hands and my hands were new. I looked at my feet and my feet were new,’ so I wanted to close the album by asking us to consider how we can move forward towards the future in a way in which we are changed for the better, that we're looking ahead towards a brighter day, a moment of freedom for all of us.”
Ennanga: I
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Ashley Jackson New Classical Tracks Giveaway
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Resources Ashley Jackson and the Harlem Chamber Players – Ennanga (Amazon)
Ashley Jackson and the Harlem Chamber Players – Ennanga (Bright Shiny Things)
Ashley Jackson (official site)
Harlem Chamber Players (official site)
Randall Goosby with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin — Max Bruch & Florence Price Violin Concertos (Decca)Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Randall Goosby
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“This whole season, since January, I've been performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto,” violinist Randall Goosby says. “I actually hadn't performed it with an orchestra prior to that. It's been a fun exploration of the piece from the stage.”
He recently had a week off from touring and was out running errands in New York City. That’s what he was up to when he pulled over to the side of the road to talk about his new recording with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, featuring violin concertos by Florence Price and Max Bruch.
More From Randall Goosby * 2021 PT Young Artist in Residence: Randall Goosby * 2021 Violinist Randall Goosby finds inspiration in his heritage * 2022 Listen to 2021 PT Young Artist Randall Goosby's Tiny Desk Concert
How did this collaboration with Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra evolve?
“It was one of those things where I just couldn't say no to it. I had been wanting to continue my exploration of Price's music after my first album, Roots, came out, so I was thrilled at the invitation. I then spent all of last summer really diving into both the Price concerti.
“To make this recording with a conductor and an orchestra that have been dedicated and passionate champions of Price's story, not just her music, was really special. It was a privilege that I'll always look back upon with great gratitude.”
What about Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1 resonates with you?
“One of the things that I think is very special about the Violin Concerto No. 1 is that it's modeled after the warhorse that is Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. It quickly becomes an example of what makes American music what it is, and that is the combining of influences from all over the place.
“The piece presented her with an opportunity to shed a new light on some of the themes that Tchaikovsky laid out. I mean, Tchaikovsky had to go through some great challenges of his own at the time. But there were challenges that he had to go through that Price probably couldn't relate to. And there were certainly challenges that Price experienced and had to overcome that Tchaikovsky could never have conveyed in his music. And so I think it presents a unique opportunity to look at these two very different artists under the same spotlight.”
Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2 is made up of a single movement. What are we learning about her in this piece?
“There's a lot of athletics; there's a lot of very quick moving notes and very fleeting harmonies that keep you on the edge of your seat — until suddenly it gives way to the richest, chocolatiest and soulful singing quality found in some of those andante sections that are laced in between the athleticism. In terms of the structure of the piece, she just changed things up and went against the grain.”
Why did you decide to pair these two works with Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1?
“I fell in love with the violin because of music like the violin concerti by Bruch, Mendelssohn and Brahms, not because of the Price concerti. But the Price concerti have injected new life to me in terms of having some sort of a guiding purpose behind a lot of my programing.”
Price: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major - I. Tempo moderato
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Giveaway
Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Randall Goosby — Max Bruch & Florence Price Violin Concertos (Amazon)
Randall Goosby — Max Bruch & Florence Price Violin Concertos (Decca)
Randall Goosby (official site)
Lara Downes – Love at Last (PENTATONE) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Lara Downes
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Love at Last is a new recording by pianist Lara Downes featuring music of healing and hope. The album contains music that came out of the darkest period of the global pandemic. Downes recalls hearing those years referred to as unprecedented times, but that’s not entirely accurate, she says.
“When we are immersed as classical musicians in a tradition that goes back so many centuries, and we know the stories behind the music, then we're very familiar with the cycles of war and plague, and all of the tragedies that humans endure. So I started thinking about the ways that music could support a feeling of connection across time and place and understanding of history. This continuum, this past, present and future continuum. And then I started amassing music, and it was a really beautiful process.”
More From Lara Downes * 2023 Lara Downes performs a spring-themed Tiny Desk Concert full of renewal * 2022 Classical Woman of the Year: Lara Downes * 2022 Lara Downes reflects on the music of Scott Joplin * 2021 Pianist Lara Downes re-centers the music of the Great Migration * 2019 Pianist Lara Downes celebrates the power and artistic legacy of women in new album
What made you decide on the title of Love at Last for this collection of music?
“It comes from a poem by 19th-century writer Shaul Tchernichovsky. He was a Ukrainian poet who later emigrated to Jerusalem. The poem had been set by a singer songwriter named Debbie Friedman in the ‘70s, and it was a song that we used to sing in temple when I was a kid.
“He wrote the poem when he was a young man at the very turn of the century in Odessa. But he was about to witness so many terrible things, the antisemitism that was going to ravage his community in Ukraine, two World Wars. And this poem of his begins with, ‘Laugh at all my dreams, my dearest laugh. And I repeat anew that I still believe in man as I still believe in you. Let the times be dark with hatred. I believe in years beyond, love at last shall bind all people in an everlasting bond.’”
The piece that opens this recording is Dawn, by Czech composer Jaroslav Ježek. It's a work that you performed at the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C., a few years ago, and most of your audience was in tears. Can you talk about this song and why it has such an impact on those who hear it?
“This song was played on the radio in Prague every day during the Nazi occupation, and it was kind of a secret message of resistance — a reminder to the Czech people that there would be another dawn, a brighter day. And I didn't know that history when I played it in this room full of people who had this visceral connection with that music that was handed down from their parents and grandparents. And the emotion around it just was staggering.”
You created an arrangement of a piece by Margaret Bonds. It's the Credo No. 2, and it's from a larger work. Can you talk a little bit about this piece and how it is still relevant today?
“She wrote her credo inspired by the text from W.E.B. Dubois, a prose poem that he wrote in 1904. In the 1960s, Bonds took that text and wrote a large piece for baritone soloist, chorus and orchestra, also called The Credo, bringing his words to life in the middle of the civil rights movement.
And just thinking about all of the generations who have fought for this American promise and how we continue to do that. We're certainly living in times that are complicated and challenging when it comes to race
All of the pieces on this record. They're all reminding us that tomorrow is a new day, and that means a new chance.”
Tree of Life
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
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Resources Lara Downes — Love at Last (Amazon)
Lara Downes — Love at Last (Pentatone)
Lara Downes (Official site)
Hilary Hahn — Eclipse (DG) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Hilary Hahn
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Every 10 years or so, violinist Hilary Hahn takes a one-year sabbatical from performing. It’s a way for her to remove herself from the whirlwind of professional music-making, and re-evaluate what’s working, and what’s not. When she began her most recent sabbatical in September 2019, she had no idea what lay ahead. She’d always thought, as a creative person, she’d always find some creative outlet if she found herself unable to perform.
It turns out that playing onstage with an orchestra for an audience fills her tanks. The absence of that emotional outlet wasn’t the only loss. She said she’d also lost her connections with colleagues around the world, her sense of self as a musician and her confidence. Her latest album, Eclipse,is a testament to facing that challenge with vulnerability and the support of trusted colleagues.
The introduction you wrote for your new album revealed a vulnerability that artists haven’t always shared.
“I made a huge change in how I perceived the way we communicate as artists with our audiences and our fellow musicians with the project 100 Days of Practice. In this project, I shared my practice, read the comments, and realized that there was a certain relationship to practice that was very vulnerable. When people also saw that vulnerability as normal for a professional, they felt much more connected to their own practice. That's what cued me into the idea of finality presented in our field as we learn the way to do it. But music is an art form about emotions and people. When we don't tell our emotions, we don't tell stories about people.”
Why do you consider playing the Dvorak concerto as coming home?
“The joy of playing together again was similar to being away from your home country, and then you come back. It’s as if you have an extensive lively family you haven't seen for two years, and you're all in the room together. That was the homecoming aspect. That was something that I had missed that I hadn't been able to replicate, and suddenly we were all in it together. It was great. The room's energy was dimensional. They were also returning to a format they hadn't had for a while. They didn't have to sit apart from each other. The return to the big stage with the home audience was significant in ways I don't think we had challenged before, so it was nice to be part of that.”
Why do you describe Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy as finicky?
“You think you have the piece figured out and then practice it the next day. You're like, ‘Where did it go?’ In that sense, it is finicky. You have to play with a lot of accuracy, but also with a lot of spatial freedom around the instrument. That's a complicated combination. It's like walking on a balance beam that isn't just one balance beam. You're walking and then suddenly you're over in another area on another balance beam and then suddenly you're back. At the same time, the music is very free. You're trying to be a singer and virtuoso violinist at the same.”
Watch: Sarasate - Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: I. Moderato
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Hilary Hahn * New Classical Tracks Most coveted releases of 2021 * New Classical Tracks Hilary Hahn memorializes her time in Paris
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Hilary Hahn — Eclipse(DG Store)
Hilary Hahn — Eclipse(Amazon)
Amanda Lee Falkenberg with Marin Alsop/The London Symphony Orchestra & The London Voices — The Moons Symphony (Signum) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Amanda Lee Falkenberg
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Amanda Lee Falkenberg is an Australian-born composer and pianist who lives in Dubai. Five years ago she took a leap of faith that led to the creation of a choral symphony that merges science and art. After a random email to a NASA scientist, which opened an entire universe of possibilities, she started work on her latest album, The Moon Symphony, featuring Marin Alsop conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, and the London Voices.
Can you talk about the article that started this project?
“I instantly went, ‘Oh my goodness! These moons are not weird. They're absolutely wonderful and I need to change their course.’ I felt like after reading the article I just wanted to break them free and give them a voice. Knowing the power of music and being a film composer let me understand the persuasive and powerful qualities that music has more than any other art form. It can really manipulate the emotional landscape. It was so clear to me that that's what I wanted to do with these moons.”
Why is it important for you to merge science and art?
“I just couldn't ignore it. I felt like science was tapping me on the shoulder saying, ‘Hey, can we be part of this moon adventure with you?’ At that point, I wasn't planning on having a choir, but I thought if I did get the choir involved it would give more relevance and outreach and could really house the science better.”
Which of these moons or movements presented the greatest challenge for you?
“Titan. I had a field day choosing the science of that moon because of all the recent discoveries, and because of the legendary Cassini–Huygens space-research mission by NASA. One of the challenging moments was when I had been composing nonstop for seven days, and I remember just listening back to what I had come up with. I don't like it at all. I scrapped everything. I just literally deleted it.
“The moon Miranda of Uranus was a challenge for different reasons. I felt the most emotionally affected by her meaning. I just got so involved in her world. I remember feeling like I was living in a nightmare. I just wanted to beam myself out of it because it just was so dark, scary and violent.
“That's when I found the story of the seventh moon. I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness! This is what's missing from my symphony. The seventh story. Why don't we position Earth's moon, our moon, in this storytelling?’ It’s something to remind us that we actually do have a home in the solar system and it was the moon Miranda's story that brought me to that inspiration.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Amanda Lee Falkenberg * The Planetary Society Amanda Lee Falkenberg
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Amanda Lee Falkenberg with Marin Alsop/The London Symphony Orchestra & The London Voices — The Moons Symphony (Presto music)
Amanda Lee Falkenberg with Marin Alsop/The London Symphony Orchestra & The London Voices — The Moons Symphony (Amazon)
Amanda Lee Falkenberg (official site)
Rachel Barton Pine — Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries (Cedille) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Rachel Barton Pine
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“You could say that the album that I've just rereleased is really the album that I would have made in 1997 had I only been able to back then,” violinist Rachel Barton Pine said about releasing a pioneering recording celebrating Black composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. “I couldn't be more excited.”
Pine is reissuing and refreshing this recording 25 years later as Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries.
“We've all heard of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the wonderful Afro-French composer who was the greatest swordsman in Europe and an inspiration to Mozart,” she said. “But there is another composer from the same time, Chevalier de Meude-Monpas. There's no existing visual image of him, but all the musicologists for decades assumed that he must be of African descent because he was always called Chevalier.
“Years later they discovered that de Meude-Monpas had actually served in a regiment of the French army that all rode black horses. He was just a random white Frenchman, but he still composed an absolutely charming violin concerto,” Pine said. “I'm glad I got to perform it and record it, but it certainly no longer belongs on my album of violin concertos by Black composers.
“Back in ‘97, when I was looking for repertoire among the various 20th-century pieces, I encountered a single page from a Florence Price manuscript. I was told that she had written two violin concertos, but they were considered to be lost to the world forever. There was no hope. They would never be found. They would never be heard,” she said about her search for music. “A few years ago, this treasure trove of her manuscripts was discovered in an old trunk in an abandoned farmhouse. Sitting in there among all the symphonic and chamber music were indeed both of her violin concertos.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Rachel Barton Pine * New Classical Tracks Violinist Rachel Barton Pine records 'headbanger' concerto * Watch violinist Rachel Barton Pine perform a duet with her 7-year-old daughter
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Rachel Barton Pine — Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries (Cedille official store)
Rachel Barton Pine (official site)
Christopher Tin/Voces 8 — The Lost Birds (Decca) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Christopher Tin
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Composer Christopher Tin and the British vocal ensemble Voces8 were introduced to one another by their recording engineer about a decade ago. Ever since that first meeting, Tin has been looking for an opportunity to collaborate with the singers. They were finally able to come together on a project called The Lost Birds.
“The main overture of The Lost Birds is actually a melody that I'd written years ago for a documentary about bird extinctions,” Tin said. “This subject has been on my mind for more than ten years. This one little tune that I wrote 11 years ago has stayed as something that I wanted to expand upon in a choral requiem format. I finally got the chance to do that with Voces8 during the pandemic.”
Why is the loss of birds important to you?
“I've been very captivated by the metaphor of the canary in the coal mine, which you may know comes from the 19th century practice where miners used to bring a canary down to the coal mines with them. If the canary died it meant there was a buildup of poisonous gases in the coal mine and the miners would be next. I thought there was no better metaphor for the impending change in the climate and what it could mean for our own civilization. I took this metaphor and I essentially made an entire choral piece out of it.
“We talk about birds and celebrate their beauty in the first half. But over the course of the second half, the birds vanish and the texts become more suggestive of humans going extinct along with the birds. It’s a soft activist message about where these extinctions are leading us.”
Why did you decide to adopt a 19th-century musical vocabulary?
“I immersed myself in the vernacular of the 19th century, both musically and poetically. The four poets that I chose to set to music are Emily Dickinson, Sara Teasdale, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Christina Rossetti. I really wanted to create a time capsule that was reflecting on where we are now.”
What were you going for with the piece “Thus in the Winter”?
“The way I think of writing choral parts is almost like the way that birds fly in a flock. The different voices are individual birds and they all have their own motion, but collectively they have a group motion to them. It's directional and it's made up of all these individual threads. A piece like ‘Thus in the Winter’ is a realization of that movement. It is a lot of individual lines weaving around, sometimes coming together with big cries, but often diverging and doing their own things.”
VOCES8 & Jack Liebeck: The Lark Ascending - Ralph Vaughan Williams (arr. Paul Drayton)
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Christopher Tin * New Classical Tracks Christopher Tin's 'To Shiver the Sky' encourages listeners to take flight * Composer Christopher Tin has a funky message for APA Heritage Month
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Christopher Tin/Voces8 — The Lost Birds (Christopher Tin official store)
Christopher Tin/Voces8 — The Lost Birds (Center Stage store)
Christopher Tin/Voces8 — The Lost Birds (Amazon)
Christopher Tin (official site)
Voces8 (official site)
Sarah Willis — Mozart y Mambo: Cuban Dances (Alpha) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Sarah Willis
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When Sarah Willis travelled to Cuba two years ago to record Vol. 1 of her three-part series Mozart y Mambo, she wanted to make music and to make a difference. Thanks to profits from that first album, members of the Havana Lyceum Orchestra now have new instruments, and you can hear the difference those instruments make on Mozart y Mambo, Vol. 2, which was recently released.
“Mozart y Mambo has become more than just an album. It's a real project. And we're looking after younger players in Cuba and trying to help them get better instruments and play in the Havana Lyceum Orchestra. So we're doing the same with album two. It's a lot of fun, and it's lovely to see how generous people are.”
You start off the recording of Vol. 2 with Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2. What made you decide to begin with this specific piece?
“Recording that [concerto] in Havana with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and seeing them dance this Mozart, because they literally dance when they play. I thought it could start the album really well, because we've we've called it Mozart Y Mambo: Cuban Dances in a reference to the Horn Concerto that's on the album. But I thought Mozart No. 2 was the most danceable of them all. Also, it's in the key of E-flat. And E-flat is a bit of a happier key for me than the first Concerto in D, and D is a little ‘fumbly’ on the horn, so we put that in a bit later.”
Concerto No. 1 also appears on this recording. It’s a piece that requires a lot of slow practice with the metronome. Can you talk about why that is so critical to this work?
“When you're playing in E-flat, you use a lot of your first and second fingers. Now, when you're playing in D, you use your second and third finger. Everyone listening to this, try wiggling your third finger. And now the ring finger. It's slower, isn't it? [It’s the same for us when] we are trying to play, like in the first movement of the First Concerto on a natural horn. For all of us, modern-day horn players, Mozart Concerto No. 1 means a lot of third finger work. And I had to really [practice]; it's like training my fingers for the ‘Horn Olympics.’”
The music of Mozart frames Vol. 2, and nestled in the middle is a landmark original work. The original idea was to create the first Cuban Horn Concerto, but it really turned out to be more of a suite of dances. Talk a little bit about this suite and how it's also created this wonderful map of Cuba's musical heritage.
“It's all very well mixing Mozart and mambo together and doing this fusion that we love so much. But I really wanted to do something for future generations of horn players, and I also wanted to find out more about Cuban music. So each of these six dances [are] completely different, and I'm so happy that I have these six young composers. I mean, for me, it's a little bit like … a young version of the Buena Vista Social Club.
“I still didn't feel like I was qualified to do these dances justice because I've heard Cuban music. It's really easy and loose and you just [have to] feel it in your body. And I was going, pa pa pa pa pa pa pa. And I called on one of the composers to help me. He was in Germany at the time, Richard Egues, and he was like, ‘Yeah, you play really good horn, but that's not Cuban! What are you doing? Sing it to me.’ So, we sang it and it got a bit better. And [then] he said, ‘I'm sorry, “chica,” you're going to have to dance it.’
So he got me up out of my chair and we literally danced all these different dances, and I spent two or three months really learning these dances.”
The recording sessions for this release took place in a church, and one of those late-night sessions produced a piece that's kind of a surprise ending to this recording. Can you talk about that?
“When I was creating this with the arranger Edgar Olivero, who's a Cuban who now lives in Spain, I said, ‘Can you make it funny? Who should be my Papageno?’ And he came up with the idea of the baritone saxophone, which is one of my favorite instruments of all time. We've called it Pa Pa Pa, and we put a very famous Cuban contra dance in the middle of it. So, it’s yet another dance. I just wanted to send people out with a smile on their faces.”
Mozart y Mambo - Cuban Dances Sarah Willis & the Havana Lyceum Orchestra
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Sarah Willis * New Classical Tracks Sarah Willis mambos with Mozart on project with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Sarah Willis — Mozart y Mambo/Cuban Dances (DG store)
Sarah Willis — Mozart y Mambo/Cuban Dances (Amazon store)
Sarah Willis (official site)
Víkingur Ólafsson — From Afar (DG) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Víkingur Ólafsson
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“I'm not shy when meeting people. I have met many fantastic people in my life. But meeting György Kurtág felt different to me. I had this feeling of awe,” Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson said.
He was starstruck last year when out of the blue, he was invited to Budapest to meet the 96-year-old Hungarian composer. Their 10-minute meeting turned into several hours of musical discovery. After, Ólafsson decided to send Kurtág a letter in the form of an album. That musical letter is his latest double album, From Afar.
“When I got home from that life-changing experience, I did two things,” he said. “I silenced the notifications on my phone because I wanted to feel the kind of freedom of timelessness that is Kurtág. And the second thing was to start work on this album because I realized I wanted to send a letter in the form of an album.
“All the musical ideas and eight pieces by Kurtág are spread throughout the album. I juxtaposed them with music that I thought connected very strongly to his esthetic,” he said. “But also include music that was from my own musical past. I was done recording the album on the grand piano on day two or three, and then I started to record it again on the upright piano, which was inspired by my quartet. Kurtág loves the upright piano.
“I couldn't really choose between my two children, the grand piano recording or the upright piano recording for the whole album,” Ólafsson said explaining the mix of pianos. “I decided you should never choose between your children. I decided to release both versions simultaneously, which I think has never been done before.”
Can you talk about performing on both pianos?
“There's this one little piece, Sleepily, by Kurtág, which is an absolutely amazing piece of music. In that piece, he conveys the idea of going from consciousness to falling asleep. He has tone clusters and these incredibly soft glissandos that are supposed to be like a musical yawn.
“For the grand piano, I would actually prefer Brahms. His Intermezzo, Op. 116, No. 4 is the crown jewel of Brahms' late works, in my opinion. There are many jewels there, but that is my queen. That's my favorite. I love the overtones, the richness of the bass and the bigger vibrations from the Steinway.”
Can you talk about the pieces you and your wife, Halla, are featured on?
“One is J.S Bach’s Trio Sonata No. 1 that's already been released as a single. It's just an amazing piece of music that Kurtág recently dedicated his transcription of it to me. It's one of my favorite arrangements. I'm beyond grateful for that dedication.”
What are some of the personal secrets that are hidden within this recording?
“This recording has my first attempt at arranging or transcribing something that's not for solo piano. It's ‘Ave Maria.’ It's one of my favorite songs. It was dedicated to my now wife, but then girlfriend back in 2007 when she was only 20 and I was 23.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Víkingur Ólafsson * New Classical Tracks Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson wants to change how we think about Mozart * Conversation between the keys: Vikingur Olafsson meets Debussy and Rameau
Giveaway
Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
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Resources Víkingur Ólafsson — From Afar (DG store)
Víkingur Ólafsson — From Afar (Amazon store)
Víkingur Ólafsson (official site)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason — Song (Decca)
New Classical Tracks - The Knights
by
“Song really speaks to the vocal quality I find in all the pieces of music that I selected for my instrument,” cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason said about expressing his artistic freedom on his latest solo recording, Song. ”The cello has such a wonderful ability to sing in all of these different styles and combinations of instruments in arranging while improvising. The cool singing quality of the cello is something I enjoy exploring. I enjoyed making this album and it is very personal for me.”
Can you talk about the opening arrangement on the album?
“There’s something very direct about these folk melodies. I made this arrangement just for solo cello with no harmony because I wanted to just appreciate the bare bones of the melody. I just wanted to play like that.
“There's so much music on this recording, which uses the cello in different ways. I wanted to start with something very pure and the sound of a solo cello line. The voice of the cello develops throughout the disc and ends with a piece of pizzicato solo cello.”
What was the title of the work you arranged for your grandmother?
“The title is Myfanwy and I love the expressiveness of the falling intervals.”
Are you playing this trio all by yourself?
“Yes. I recorded three voices of just me. It's actually harder than I thought it would be to play with myself. Normally when I'm playing with other people, I'm in the room and I can physically feel what they are doing. But when it's coming through a headphone you're playing in a slightly different experience. It was a cool way to do it.”
Can you talk about the Bach work arranged for four cellos?
“On that one, I was less lonely. I convinced four friends to play with me. I had my current teacher, one of my previous teachers and a couple of friends who have mentored me to join me on the album.”
Can you talk about the world premiere of Edmund Finnis’ Five Preludes?
“I love the first prelude. There's a conversational and intimate feeling about it. The music speaks to me. I feel that I'm able to speak with it because it's music that doesn't shout out to grab your attention. Rather, it draws you into this intimate conversation. This intimacy is something that I enjoy exploring and performing.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Sheku Kanneh-Mason * New Classical Tracks 20-year-old cello phenom Sheku Kanneh-Mason releases second solo album * For classical stars Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, representation matters
Resources Sheku Kanneh-Mason — Song (Decca store)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason — Song (Amazon store)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (official site)
The Knights — The Kreutzer Project (Avie)
New Classical Tracks - The Knights
by
“Aren’t we all obsessed with time travel? Aren’t we all wanting to have dinner with that person that’s not alive anymore,” conductor of the Knights, Eric Jacobsen, asked when he fired up the time machine for their newest album, The Kreutzer Project. With his brother, violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen, they explore time-traveling dialogues between Beethoven in 1803, Leo Tolstoy in 1889, Leos Janacek in 1923 and most recently, Anna Clyne and Colin Jacobsen with their 21st-century pieces.
What idea launched this project?
Eric: “There were a couple of things that got this going. I can't remember if the Beethoven violin and piano sonata was the first thing that we said, ‘Oh, my gosh, this can be a concerto,’ or if we looked at the Janacek String Quartet and said, ‘Wow, this could absolutely have a harp, snare drum and woodwinds.’ We thought of all the works at the same time.”
Is it true that Beethoven's sonatas are infamous for being hard on both the pianist and violinist?
Colin: “The issue in this version is it’s a violin concerto, but the orchestra is playing the piano part, which is incredibly virtuosic. It’s really a concerto grosso grosso because everyone has to pull their weight with the virtuosic lines.”
Eric: “When someone listens to this and doesn’t know that it was arranged and made today, I think one would probably assume that it was made during Beethoven's life because it fits that time period. We know that he didn't make this arrangement, but it almost feels like it could be. It is from a composer who only wrote one violin concerto. I feel like this is an incredible complement to that piece.”
Tell us about the expanded version of Leos Janacek’s String Quartet.
Colin:“A lot of Janacek’s music has a sense of beauty that is thwarted or interrupted. You can hear that in the very opening. There's this gorgeous yearning chorale and it contains the primary motif of the whole piece then immediately you get interruptions from different voices. I think this is part of the emotion from the Tolstoy novella, which is a yearning for something that gets thwarted all the time.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on The Knights * New Classical Tracks The Knights - Golijov: Azul * New Classical Tracks The Knights celebrate the holiday season with a Christmas album
Resources The Knights — The Kreutzer Project (Avie store)
The Knights — The Kreutzer Project (Amazon store)
The Knights (official site)
Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Claire Bryant
by
“I chose to release my album at the Lee Correctional Institution,” said cellist Claire Bryant about her debut recording, Whole Heart. “It is one of the largest maximum-security prisons in South Carolina.
“I chose to do that because my group, Decoda, has done a series of songwriting workshops every year over the past eight years at Lee,” she said. “The men and this experience working with them have made me the artist I am today. I don't think I would have had the courage and bravery to create my album if it weren't for my experiences working with incarcerated musicians. Being able to share music that I love and make music with people who need an outlet for expression has reminded me why music is important.”
How is the title of the album connected to the music?
“The title of the record came at the very end. I felt like these pieces explore how music can mirror all the different human experiences in unique ways. The cello has this human voice element and these pieces represent personal relationships. This was my way of saying I’m not just a cellist — this is my whole heart. I let myself go in these performances. It was cathartic.”
Tell me about the two works influenced by the pandemic.
“The first work is SEVEN. It was composed by the wonderful cellist Andrea Casarrubios, who is a friend of mine. It refers to the 7 o’clock hour in New York City when strangers and neighbors would open their windows and bang pots and pans or clap and cheer for the vital workers who where on the front lines keeping us safe and risking their own lives for us.
“Composer Gabriela Lena Frank created a project for composers and solo artists to come together during the pandemic. In that project, composer Tanner Porter was paired with a cellist and wrote And Even These Small Wonders. In both of these pieces, the low string on the cello is tuned down one step to a B instead of a C. It gives the cello a different resonance. I like that two pieces on the record have a different tuning, giving a depth and earthy quality to the instrument.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Claire Bryant * Watch composer Max Richter's Tiny Desk Concert
Resources Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things online store)
Claire Bryant (official site)
Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Claire Bryant
by
“I chose to release my album at the Lee Correctional Institution,” said cellist Claire Bryant about her debut recording, Whole Heart. “It is one of the largest maximum-security prisons in South Carolina.
“I chose to do that because my group, Decoda, has done a series of songwriting workshops every year over the past eight years at Lee,” she said. “The men and this experience working with them have made me the artist I am today. I don't think I would have had the courage and bravery to create my album if it weren't for my experiences working with incarcerated musicians. Being able to share music that I love and make music with people who need an outlet for expression has reminded me why music is important.”
How is the title of the album connected to the music?
“The title of the record came at the very end. I felt like these pieces explore how music can mirror all the different human experiences in unique ways. The cello has this human voice element and these pieces represent personal relationships. This was my way of saying I’m not just a cellist — this is my whole heart. I let myself go in these performances. It was cathartic.”
Tell me about the two works influenced by the pandemic.
“The first work is SEVEN. It was composed by the wonderful cellist Andrea Casarrubios, who is a friend of mine. It refers to the 7 o’clock hour in New York City when strangers and neighbors would open their windows and bang pots and pans or clap and cheer for the vital workers who where on the front lines keeping us safe and risking their own lives for us.
“Composer Gabriela Lena Frank created a project for composers and solo artists to come together during the pandemic. In that project, composer Tanner Porter was paired with a cellist and wrote And Even These Small Wonders. In both of these pieces, the low string on the cello is tuned down one step to a B instead of a C. It gives the cello a different resonance. I like that two pieces on the record have a different tuning, giving a depth and earthy quality to the instrument.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Claire Bryant * Watch composer Max Richter's Tiny Desk Concert
Resources Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things online store)
Claire Bryant (official site)
Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Claire Bryant
by
“I chose to release my album at the Lee Correctional Institution,” said cellist Claire Bryant about her debut recording, Whole Heart. “It is one of the largest maximum-security prisons in South Carolina.
“I chose to do that because my group, Decoda, has done a series of songwriting workshops every year over the past eight years at Lee,” she said. “The men and this experience working with them have made me the artist I am today. I don't think I would have had the courage and bravery to create my album if it weren't for my experiences working with incarcerated musicians. Being able to share music that I love and make music with people who need an outlet for expression has reminded me why music is important.”
How is the title of the album connected to the music?
“The title of the record came at the very end. I felt like these pieces explore how music can mirror all the different human experiences in unique ways. The cello has this human voice element and these pieces represent personal relationships. This was my way of saying I’m not just a cellist — this is my whole heart. I let myself go in these performances. It was cathartic.”
Tell me about the two works influenced by the pandemic.
“The first work is SEVEN. It was composed by the wonderful cellist Andrea Casarrubios, who is a friend of mine. It refers to the 7 o’clock hour in New York City when strangers and neighbors would open their windows and bang pots and pans or clap and cheer for the vital workers who where on the front lines keeping us safe and risking their own lives for us.
“Composer Gabriela Lena Frank created a project for composers and solo artists to come together during the pandemic. In that project, composer Tanner Porter was paired with a cellist and wrote And Even These Small Wonders. In both of these pieces, the low string on the cello is tuned down one step to a B instead of a C. It gives the cello a different resonance. I like that two pieces on the record have a different tuning, giving a depth and earthy quality to the instrument.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Claire Bryant * Watch composer Max Richter's Tiny Desk Concert
Resources Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things online store)
Claire Bryant (official site)
Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Claire Bryant
by
“I chose to release my album at the Lee Correctional Institution,” said cellist Claire Bryant about her debut recording, Whole Heart. “It is one of the largest maximum-security prisons in South Carolina.
“I chose to do that because my group, Decoda, has done a series of songwriting workshops every year over the past eight years at Lee,” she said. “The men and this experience working with them have made me the artist I am today. I don't think I would have had the courage and bravery to create my album if it weren't for my experiences working with incarcerated musicians. Being able to share music that I love and make music with people who need an outlet for expression has reminded me why music is important.”
How is the title of the album connected to the music?
“The title of the record came at the very end. I felt like these pieces explore how music can mirror all the different human experiences in unique ways. The cello has this human voice element and these pieces represent personal relationships. This was my way of saying I’m not just a cellist — this is my whole heart. I let myself go in these performances. It was cathartic.”
Tell me about the two works influenced by the pandemic.
“The first work is SEVEN. It was composed by the wonderful cellist Andrea Casarrubios, who is a friend of mine. It refers to the 7 o’clock hour in New York City when strangers and neighbors would open their windows and bang pots and pans or clap and cheer for the vital workers who where on the front lines keeping us safe and risking their own lives for us.
“Composer Gabriela Lena Frank created a project for composers and solo artists to come together during the pandemic. In that project, composer Tanner Porter was paired with a cellist and wrote And Even These Small Wonders. In both of these pieces, the low string on the cello is tuned down one step to a B instead of a C. It gives the cello a different resonance. I like that two pieces on the record have a different tuning, giving a depth and earthy quality to the instrument.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Claire Bryant * Watch composer Max Richter's Tiny Desk Concert
Resources Claire Bryant — Whole Heart (Bright Shiny Things online store)
Claire Bryant (official site)
Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Canary Classics)
New Classical Tracks - Orli Shaham
by
“Through the course of this project, I got a taste of what it would have felt like to be Mozart,” pianist Orli Shaham said about recording all 18 of Mozart’s piano sonatas. “It was probably exhausting because he had so many ideas running through his system all the time. It must have been a difficult brain to live in.”
Continuing her Mozart project, Shaham has released the latest addition, Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3. Volumes four, five and six will come out later this year.
Why is it important for you to record all of Mozart’s piano sonatas?
“When I realized what the totality of the complete works signifies, a journey through his entire life, I was fascinated to see that journey. I’ve learned so much from this project that I would never have learned if I had just done a few sonatas.”
What have you discovered about yourself during this project?
“I'm from the school of classical piano. I play the notes that are on the page. That's how I was taught and raised. Then people talked about improvising. I never really understood what that meant. In doing 18 sonatas and adding a little ornamentation to every repeat, except for the ones that were already busy, I've gained so much experience.
“It's completely transformed my way of looking at it. I feel informed by jazz musicians today who are always pushing boundaries and trying to figure out what fits without breaking the initial mold.”
Can you talk about how Mozart brings the best out of performers?
“Those first six sonatas have very different styles from each other. I didn't know this before, but they had been written as a set for his first big European tours. Something about the fourth one is intimate and simple, yet lyrical and beautiful. You can't help but be drawn toward the opening of the work. Once you're sucked in — he's got you.”
How did you make these sonatas your own?
“If I'm making a complete set, there should be at least one example of how to go wild. There's a deceptive quality to Sonata No.16. It's not as simple as it seems at first glance. The third movement is the precise repetition of the same simple idea. We know that Mozart would never have precisely repeated anything. But I just decided that if he were in a good mood at a party, he would not have held back.”
What is interesting to you about Sonata No. 11?
“I find the first movement of the sonata so special. It’s very unusual when Mozart writes a siciliana in variations. The first movement is the only one in variation form where he can plummet into the depths of our humanity.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Orli Shaham * New Classical Tracks: Pianist Orli Shaham finds joy in Mozart amid pandemic * New Classical Tracks: Orli Shaham, 'Brahms Inspired'
Resources Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Amazon)
Orli Shaham (official site)
Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Canary Classics)
New Classical Tracks - Orli Shaham
by
“Through the course of this project, I got a taste of what it would have felt like to be Mozart,” pianist Orli Shaham said about recording all 18 of Mozart’s piano sonatas. “It was probably exhausting because he had so many ideas running through his system all the time. It must have been a difficult brain to live in.”
Continuing her Mozart project, Shaham has released the latest addition, Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3. Volumes four, five and six will come out later this year.
Why is it important for you to record all of Mozart’s piano sonatas?
“When I realized what the totality of the complete works signifies, a journey through his entire life, I was fascinated to see that journey. I’ve learned so much from this project that I would never have learned if I had just done a few sonatas.”
What have you discovered about yourself during this project?
“I'm from the school of classical piano. I play the notes that are on the page. That's how I was taught and raised. Then people talked about improvising. I never really understood what that meant. In doing 18 sonatas and adding a little ornamentation to every repeat, except for the ones that were already busy, I've gained so much experience.
“It's completely transformed my way of looking at it. I feel informed by jazz musicians today who are always pushing boundaries and trying to figure out what fits without breaking the initial mold.”
Can you talk about how Mozart brings the best out of performers?
“Those first six sonatas have very different styles from each other. I didn't know this before, but they had been written as a set for his first big European tours. Something about the fourth one is intimate and simple, yet lyrical and beautiful. You can't help but be drawn toward the opening of the work. Once you're sucked in — he's got you.”
How did you make these sonatas your own?
“If I'm making a complete set, there should be at least one example of how to go wild. There's a deceptive quality to Sonata No.16. It's not as simple as it seems at first glance. The third movement is the precise repetition of the same simple idea. We know that Mozart would never have precisely repeated anything. But I just decided that if he were in a good mood at a party, he would not have held back.”
What is interesting to you about Sonata No. 11?
“I find the first movement of the sonata so special. It’s very unusual when Mozart writes a siciliana in variations. The first movement is the only one in variation form where he can plummet into the depths of our humanity.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Orli Shaham * New Classical Tracks: Pianist Orli Shaham finds joy in Mozart amid pandemic * New Classical Tracks: Orli Shaham, 'Brahms Inspired'
Resources Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Amazon)
Orli Shaham (official site)
Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Canary Classics)
New Classical Tracks - Orli Shaham
by
“Through the course of this project, I got a taste of what it would have felt like to be Mozart,” pianist Orli Shaham said about recording all 18 of Mozart’s piano sonatas. “It was probably exhausting because he had so many ideas running through his system all the time. It must have been a difficult brain to live in.”
Continuing her Mozart project, Shaham has released the latest addition, Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3. Volumes four, five and six will come out later this year.
Why is it important for you to record all of Mozart’s piano sonatas?
“When I realized what the totality of the complete works signifies, a journey through his entire life, I was fascinated to see that journey. I’ve learned so much from this project that I would never have learned if I had just done a few sonatas.”
What have you discovered about yourself during this project?
“I'm from the school of classical piano. I play the notes that are on the page. That's how I was taught and raised. Then people talked about improvising. I never really understood what that meant. In doing 18 sonatas and adding a little ornamentation to every repeat, except for the ones that were already busy, I've gained so much experience.
“It's completely transformed my way of looking at it. I feel informed by jazz musicians today who are always pushing boundaries and trying to figure out what fits without breaking the initial mold.”
Can you talk about how Mozart brings the best out of performers?
“Those first six sonatas have very different styles from each other. I didn't know this before, but they had been written as a set for his first big European tours. Something about the fourth one is intimate and simple, yet lyrical and beautiful. You can't help but be drawn toward the opening of the work. Once you're sucked in — he's got you.”
How did you make these sonatas your own?
“If I'm making a complete set, there should be at least one example of how to go wild. There's a deceptive quality to Sonata No.16. It's not as simple as it seems at first glance. The third movement is the precise repetition of the same simple idea. We know that Mozart would never have precisely repeated anything. But I just decided that if he were in a good mood at a party, he would not have held back.”
What is interesting to you about Sonata No. 11?
“I find the first movement of the sonata so special. It’s very unusual when Mozart writes a siciliana in variations. The first movement is the only one in variation form where he can plummet into the depths of our humanity.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Orli Shaham * New Classical Tracks: Pianist Orli Shaham finds joy in Mozart amid pandemic * New Classical Tracks: Orli Shaham, 'Brahms Inspired'
Resources Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Amazon)
Orli Shaham (official site)
Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Canary Classics)
New Classical Tracks - Orli Shaham
by
“Through the course of this project, I got a taste of what it would have felt like to be Mozart,” pianist Orli Shaham said about recording all 18 of Mozart’s piano sonatas. “It was probably exhausting because he had so many ideas running through his system all the time. It must have been a difficult brain to live in.”
Continuing her Mozart project, Shaham has released the latest addition, Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3. Volumes four, five and six will come out later this year.
Why is it important for you to record all of Mozart’s piano sonatas?
“When I realized what the totality of the complete works signifies, a journey through his entire life, I was fascinated to see that journey. I’ve learned so much from this project that I would never have learned if I had just done a few sonatas.”
What have you discovered about yourself during this project?
“I'm from the school of classical piano. I play the notes that are on the page. That's how I was taught and raised. Then people talked about improvising. I never really understood what that meant. In doing 18 sonatas and adding a little ornamentation to every repeat, except for the ones that were already busy, I've gained so much experience.
“It's completely transformed my way of looking at it. I feel informed by jazz musicians today who are always pushing boundaries and trying to figure out what fits without breaking the initial mold.”
Can you talk about how Mozart brings the best out of performers?
“Those first six sonatas have very different styles from each other. I didn't know this before, but they had been written as a set for his first big European tours. Something about the fourth one is intimate and simple, yet lyrical and beautiful. You can't help but be drawn toward the opening of the work. Once you're sucked in — he's got you.”
How did you make these sonatas your own?
“If I'm making a complete set, there should be at least one example of how to go wild. There's a deceptive quality to Sonata No.16. It's not as simple as it seems at first glance. The third movement is the precise repetition of the same simple idea. We know that Mozart would never have precisely repeated anything. But I just decided that if he were in a good mood at a party, he would not have held back.”
What is interesting to you about Sonata No. 11?
“I find the first movement of the sonata so special. It’s very unusual when Mozart writes a siciliana in variations. The first movement is the only one in variation form where he can plummet into the depths of our humanity.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Orli Shaham * New Classical Tracks: Pianist Orli Shaham finds joy in Mozart amid pandemic * New Classical Tracks: Orli Shaham, 'Brahms Inspired'
Resources Orli Shaham — Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 & 3 (Amazon)
Orli Shaham (official site)
Janoska Ensemble — The Big B’s (DG) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Janoska Ensemble
by
Two violins, double bass and piano is an unusual combination for a classical quartet, but it’s the perfect combination for the Janoska Ensemble.
“It's a new window that we want to open for classical music,” double bassist Julius Darvas said about the ensemble’s sound. “We want to bring a new wave of air in classical music that includes great improvisation, with fantastic arrangements and virtuosity”
The other ensemble members are violinists Ondrej and Roman Janoska and pianist Frantisek Janoska. Darvas married their sister.
“When I met my wife, she told me that she has relatives in Bratislava,” Darvas said. “We went there, and the whole house was full of music. Somebody had left a double bass at her family’s home. I took the double bass, and we were jamming together. Their father liked it very much and said, ‘You have to marry her because we need a good bass player in the family.’”
Can you talk about how the ensemble respects Bach, Beethoven and Brahms?
“We realized they are the big B’s in classical historical music. We were searching for other composers with the letter B. We also found Bartók, Bernstein and Brubeck. We took our favorite compositions from them and made it Janoksa style.”
How is Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins tailor-made for the ensemble?
“We have the classical violin on one side, but the improvisatory jazz violin on the other. I'm playing the basso continuo, but sometimes some grooves. Frantisek accompanies the whole thing in a classical style combined with jazz and pop. Some new chords were added, which gave us a fantastic bassline to make new improvisations. Roman is playing the violin like a guitar. We also have flamenco technique in the piano.”
Do you write pieces in honor of your family members?
“Yes. It has become a tradition to write pieces for our family, usually for our children. It's a tribute to them. There are seven generations of musicians in the family. Ondrej Janoska’s first composition is dedicated to his two wonderful daughters, Valentina and Letizia. The piece is Bagatelle Pour Va-Le.”
How did you condense Beethoven’s nine symphonies into just nine minutes?
“We knew that we couldn't record all nine symphonies in this ensemble. The goal was to make it in nine minutes. We took one theme or melody from every symphony and arranged it for ourselves. The audience loves it. Some of them look at their watches during the concerts.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Janoska Ensemble * New Classical Tracks: Bach and Beatles go hand-in-hand in Janoska Ensemble's 'Revolution'
Giveaway
Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
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Resources Janoska Ensemble — The Big B’s (Amazon)
Janoska Ensemble (official site)
Itamar Zorman — Violin Odyssey (First Hand) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Itamar Zorman
by
Like many musicians during the pandemic, Israeli violinist Itamar Zorman found creative ways to continue performing. He and his wife, pianist Liza Stepanova, created a live-streamed video series, Hidden Gems. It was that video series that inspired Zorman’s latest recording, Violin Odyssey.
Why are you calling this project Violin Odyssey?
“Somehow the geographical scope of this music merged with time. I realized that I was featuring quite a few continents. Since this was a time where I could not travel, it was nice to do the traveling via music. I decided to go for something that evokes the journey.”
How did you select the pieces on this recording?
“These are all pieces that are personal favorites of mine by composers who deserve to be heard. Some have gotten more attention than others. For example, the composers of the first and last tracks of the CD are people who have rightly gained more attention. Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz is a virtuoso violinist and great pianist. One of her pieces start the album and she has become more popular during the last couple of years. The same can be said about William Grant Still. I am playing this wonderful piece, arranged from the original called Summerland.”
How does Wandering, a work composed by your father, Moshe Zorman, set the tone for the album?
“Every journey starts from home. It was appropriate to do something by my father, especially something I had an influence on. He made the piece into a violin and piano duet because of me. He did that so I could play. He took the title from a collection of short stories by Hermann Hesse’s book Wanderings.”
Tell me about Erwin Schule’s Sonata for violin and piano.
“The score is very funny. It has illogical meters and smiley faces. It is incredibly fun to look at. He also has a piece called Sonata Erotica. He really went all over the place with his compositions. He wrote this second sonata and became really interested in jazz and folk music in his 20s.”
Tell me about Dora Pejačević.
“Croatian composer Dora Pejačević is somewhat of a hero because of her music. She also volunteered as a nurse during World War I even though she was born to a noble family. She was really a part of her people. That is why she became a hero there.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Itamar Zorman * New Classical Tracks: After a Dream * New Classical Tracks: Itamar Zorman celebrates music of Paul Ben-Haim in 'Evocation'
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Itamar Zorman — Violin Odyssey (Amazon)
Itamar Zorman (official site)
Johnny Gandelsman — This Is America – An Anthology 2020-2021 (In a Circle Records) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Johnny Gandelsman
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“I was born in Russia into a family of musicians. Both of my parents are musicians. My only sibling, my older sister, is a violinist as well,” says violinist Johnny Gandelsman, who has been living in Brooklyn since 1999. “I've been playing since I was 5 years old, and my family moved to Israel when I was a kid. Then I came to the United States to go to school and have been living here ever since.”
You might recognize Gandelsman as one of the violinists with the ensemble Brooklyn Rider. He also has played in the world music collective Silk Road Ensemble. Most recently, he has been commissioning new works for his three-CD solo project, This Is America – An Anthology 2020-2021.
“This is a project that was born a few months into the height of the pandemic. I was just trying to think if there was anything I can do about the situation in the world. One thing that occurred to me was to commission new works from American composers,” he said about his inspiration for the project. “I wanted composers who live here and to ask them to reflect on the times.”
Can you talk about the composers, pieces and themes we hear in the project?
“One piece that comes to my mind is a work by a composer from Tatarstan, Adeliia Faizullina. Her piece is Dew, Time, Linger. When the pandemic struck, she was a student in Los Angeles studying composition. Her piece captures this incredibly beautiful feeling of isolation. She finds really beautiful ways to depict silence, such as a drop of water in the sink or a gust of wind.
“I asked Rhiannon Giddens to write a piece. She created New to the Session. It was about her experience attending music sessions where people come together and play tunes. And her experience was that she was a beginner in that world. It's this succession of fiddle tunes, which are full of joy.
“The opening piece is by Clarice Assad. It's simply titled O, which represents oxygen. That seems to encompass so much of what we were experiencing, people struggling to breathe, just being able to breathe and maybe a sigh of relief if you did feel safe.”
Can you talk about O?
“We were struggling to breathe. She also mentions the killing of George Floyd as forcibly denying his breath. It was not planned that way, but the piece that closes the album set is Breathe, by Kojiro Umezaki. His work also deals with the same themes, but a very different way of expressing it. It's a bookend for this almost four-hour release.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Johnny Gandelsman * New Classical Tracks: Yo-Yo Ma and Johnny Gandelsman * Johnny Gandelsman, 'O'
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Johnny Gandelsman — This Is America – An Anthology 2020-2021 (Amazon)
Johnny Gandelsman — This Is America – An Anthology 2020-2021 (Bandcamp)
Frederic Hand — Across Time (New Focus Recordings) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Frederic Hand
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”I'm not sure why this happened, but he started to sing at a slower tempo. I had this moment of panic,” guitarist Frederic Hand said during one of the many stories he can tell about his role as the official guitarist for the Metropolitan Opera. “Here we are, and it comes down to the guitar player to make a decision whether to follow the conductor or to follow the most famous singer in the world. I remember all these things rushing through my head, ‘Why me?’— I decided to follow Luciano Pavarotti.”
Along with his role at the Met, which he held for decades, he’s written music for five different soap operas, film and not to mention his vibrant solo career of 40 years, which is celebrated on his latest recording, Across Time.
In general, what will we hear on this album?
“Forty years ago I did a recording called Trilogy. It was all original compositions and that was the first time I used jazz harmonies and rhythms. That album was the beginning of solidifying my style. I was able to get the masters and have it digitally remastered. I'm happy because I can reintroduce that album to several other generations.
“There are three new pieces written during the first couple of years of the pandemic. They really do reflect us being in a pandemic in terms of feelings, especially the first piece ‘Renewal.’ There was a time, especially when the vaccines first came out, that it seemed like a big ray of light was coming in. There was hope. That hope is expressed in the music with a very joyful jazz waltz.
“Then the piece ends with contemplated harmonics. That's musically the representation of what I was feeling during the pandemic. If I were to write it now I'm not quite sure what I would do because it's so confusing.
“I also had three songs that I had recorded with my wife with texts by Shakespeare’s character Orsino. Those were done in my home studio, and they haven't seen the light of day until now. I'm excited about that. So that's the gist of the album, and that's why I called it Across Time.”
How did your mentee inspire you to write a ballad for Astor Piazzolla?
“His name is Federico Diaz, and he's a Piazzolla specialist. He devoted his doctorate to the music of Piazzolla. He told me at the end of his stay he wanted to do a concert of solo music by people who were influenced by Piazzolla. He asked people to create new music.”
Tell us about ‘A Waltz for Maurice.’
“I would say in terms of composers influencing the way that I voice chords on the guitar, Maurice Ravel is my main influence. I'm trying to imitate him. I said before I was imitating Bill Evans, but Evans is coming out of the Ravel tradition.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on classical guitar * New Classical Tracks: Paraguayan guitarist Berta Roja honors the history of classical guitar * Man with a mission: Miloš seeks the next great classical guitar showpiece * Here are eight guitar composers for International Guitar Month
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Frederic Hand — Across Time (Amazon)
Frederic Hand (official site)
Time for Three — Letters for the Future (DG) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Time for Three
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“This is Kevin Puts; he’s our new member, our composer in residence — ‘Time for Four.’”
The members of the string trio Time for Three — violinists Nick Kendall and Charles Yang, and bassist Ranaan Meyer — are talking about Puts and his involvement on their latest album, Letters for the Future, which also includes music by composer Jennifer Higdon.
Meyer: “We've been on this journey for a while. When we started out, we were this band that was discovering a common ground with classical music. We had this desire and inquisitive nature of wanting to explore all different genres.
“Now fast-forward to today, and we're here to talk about our recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which features Jennifer Higdon’s work that was also the very first concerto that was ever written for us back in 2008.
Here is an exclusive performance for YourClassical MPR of the Cadenza from Higdon’s Concerto 4-3:
Watch now
“We're also super excited about our latest concerto, Contact, by Kevin Puts. In addition to being a sensational composer and writing gorgeous music that is incredibly storytelling in nature, he is like-minded to our group, which pushes us forward on our instruments.”
How is this album a homecoming for the group?
Kendall: “When Ranaan and I attended the Curtis Institute of Music in the late ‘90s, Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer and Yo-Yo Ma released Appalachian Waltz, which blew our minds. At that time, it also seemed natural for Time for Three to do the same. We had this incredible opportunity with the Philadelphia Orchestra with help from maestro Christoph Eschenbach.
“Eschenbach saw this energy from us and thought if he could put these virtuoso musicians in the hands of a master composer, who would that be? We had a meeting with him, and both of our lists had Jennifer Higdon, who was a teacher at Curtis. That is the story behind Concerto 4-3.”
Can you talk about the creativity behind Contact?
Puts: “I thought it was an interesting idea to start with nothing but a three-voice chorale and then gradually elaborate on that. As far as there being a message, I didn't really think of it that way until later. We realized what we were working on a piece about all the different forms of contact.”
Here’s an exclusive performance of Puts’ Gankino Horo, which is not featured on the album:
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on Time for Three * New Classical Tracks: Time for Three
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Time For Three New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Time for Three — Letters for the Future (DG store)
Time for Three — Letters for the Future (Amazon)
Time for Three (official site)
Alisa Weilerstein / Inon Barnatan: Beethoven Cello Sonatas (Pentatone) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Alisa Weilerstein
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“It takes organization. But it is more than possible, and it's fantastic.”
That’s cellist Alisa Weilerstein talking about what it takes to integrate family with an active career.
About five months ago, she and her husband, conductor Rafael Payare, welcomed their second daughter, Elina, who joins big sister Ariadna.
But not only did Weilerstein expand her family during the global pandemic; she also created a new recording with her longtime musical partner, pianist Inon Barnonton: a collection of Ludwig van Beethoven’s cello sonatas.
The two of you have been playing these works for the entirety of your collaboration, which dates to 2008. Why was now the right time to make this recording?
“Nothing is like the Bach cello suites in terms of, let's say, people's reverence for them and the fear of putting one’s sort of permanent stamp on them. This comes close. And so the Beethoven sonatas were pieces that we didn't want to rush into recording.
2020, of course, was also supposed to be the big Beethoven year. And, obviously, that got a bit overshadowed by world events. I mean, we had been talking about doing it eventually. It's like, well, OK, now is the perfect time. Let's just do it. So we did.
It's the most visceral music I can think of. It combines some of the most structurally interesting and beautifully crafted music with primal, rhythmic drive and energy, which is present even in the most tender moments. When Beethoven becomes vulnerable, it's almost unbearable in terms of how moving, how touching it is.
One of the coolest things about Beethoven's sonatas for cello and piano is that in five fairly concise works, we get to hear how his relationship between the piano and cello was redefined. Can you talk about that evolution and how we hear it in these works?
“And I'm really glad you brought that up, because historically, in terms of our canon, it was a very important trajectory that we're following.
“The first two sonatas, the first one, in particular, are really more of piano and cello sonatas. In other words, the piano is really the main voice, and the cello is having a kind of obbligato voice. I'm just kind of floating around and the piano is just wailing away, basically.
“And then the Third Sonata is the first one where the cello and piano are truly equal partners. And it's announced from the very first note, which is played by the cello alone. That, historically, was a really big deal. It's fascinating to see how he just broke all the rules.
“This is like therapy, just to make music and to communicate these really profound ideas and emotions in a way that we didn't have to use our words for anything. We could just make music. And it was kind of a reminder of why we both do what we do and why we love what we do so much.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69: I. Allegro ma non tanto
More on Alisa Weilerstein * Learning to Listen: Alisa Weilerstein discusses the cello * SymphonyCast: Alisa Weilerstein performs at the BBC Proms
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Alisa Weilerstein New Classical Tracks Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Alisa Weilerstein / Inon Barnatan — Beethoven Cello Sonatas (Weilerstein store)
Alisa Weilerstein / Inon Barnatan — Beethoven Cello Sonatas (Pentatone store)
Alisa Weilerstein / Inon Barnatan — Beethoven Cello Sonatas (Amazon)
Alisa Weilerstein (official site)
Inon Barnatan (official site)
Marc-André Hamelin – William Bolcom: The Complete Rags (Hyperion)
New Classical Tracks - Marc-André Hamelin
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“In 1985, I won the Carnegie Hall competition for American Music. One of the prizes was an invitation to the Cabrillo Festival in California, which is still going on, I think. And the two composers in residence that year happened to be Arvo Pärt and William Bolcom. So, I got to meet him.”
Pianist Marc-André Hamelin not only got to meet Bolcom, the American composer whom he’d been admiring since he was 16, but he also got to make music with him. For his latest release, Hamelin has recorded a two-disc set of The Complete Rags of William Bolcom.
There's a lot of diversity in Bolcom’s rags. Can you talk about the many moods that we experience throughout this two-disc set?
“I think his first rags were a little more Joplin influenced, even though he was adding some touches of his own.
“There is one of them, which is a kind of a joke, actually, it's called Brass Knuckles. And it was written in collaboration with the late William Albright. They decided to write that together one day as sort of an antidote to the overdelicate rags that they'd each been writing. It's just a joke, of course, but it's full of clusters and very violent piano writing. And that's why I put it at the very end of the two-disc set.
“One of the rags from the Garden of Eden Suite, which is called the Serpent's Kiss and is actually one of the ones that's more often performed, asks for the same kind of percussive sound on the piano. And I couldn't do it fast enough. So I just developed a system of tongue clicks. And Bill was so amused by this during the recording session that he allowed me to keep that.”
The opening rag, Eubie’s Lucky Day, is dedicated to American pianist Eubie Blake, whom Bolcom considers to be his last great teacher. Can you tell us more about that correspondence?
“The fact that he [Bolcom] connected with Eubie Blake is really extraordinary for him, because Bill knew so much about the history of American popular music, and, of course, performing with his wife, Joan Morris, during all these years. So, it was wonderful to be in contact with someone who was there from pretty much the very beginning.
The first track of the album is called Tabby Cat Walk. Bolcom makes use of silence effectively in the piece, kind of catches us off guard, maybe the way a cat would. Can you tell us more about that?
“They called it stopped time. The music would stop for a bar or two and then it would start again. But the rhythm would always be going on behind, regardless, you know? Just recently I got an early LP of his, which is just his own rags, and Tabby Cat Walk is on there. And of course, you know, I couldn't say it was a CD player because it was vinyl. But I asked myself the same thing. There's something going on here. But no, it's just written like that, and it's quite an effective little thing.”
Is there another rag on this two-disc set you’d like to talk about?
“Well, there's a couple, actually, that sort of distinguish themselves from the others because rather than having straight ragtime rhythm, they have more of a dotted rhythm. So, a ragtime would be ‘Da Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.’ But a dotted rhythm would be more jagged. So, there's one called Knight Hubert, as in Eubie Blake, [also known as] Hubert Blake, and [an]other one is called the Brooklyn Dodge, and they're both wonderful and very swingy.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Twelve New Etudes-Book III: Rag infernal (Syncopes apocalyptiques)
More on Marc-André Hamelin and William Bolcom * Pianist Marc-André Hamelin * Composer William Bolcom at 80: A varied career of 'musical illuminations'
Resources Marc-André Hamelin — William Bolcom: The Complete Rags (Hamelin store)
Marc-André Hamelin — William Bolcom: The Complete Rags (Hyperion store)
Marc-André Hamelin — William Bolcom: The Complete Rags (Amazon)
Marc-André Hamelin (official site)
William Bolcom (official site)
Avlana Eisenberg conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with violinist Zina Schiff — William Grant Still: Summerland/Violin Suite/Pastorela/American Suite (Naxos) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Avlana and Celeste
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”It's crucial to remember this is not new music. These manuscripts have been around for generations. I'm aware that there are many more pieces from William Grant Sill and other composers who have been neglected over the years,” conductor Avlana Eisenberg said about Still, who has 13 world premieres on her latest release,William Grant Still: Summerland/Violin Suite/Pastorela/American Suite. “I think it's incumbent upon us to make sure that this is not a passing phase but momentum that gets carried forth.”
Eisenberg is joined by journalist Celeste Headlee, who is the granddaughter of Still.
Tell us about the relationship you have with your mother, violinist Zina Schiff, who is featured on the album.
Eisenberg: “She has been, for as long as I can remember, my primary musical inspiration. So much of my notion of what it is to be a musician comes, whether I'm aware of it or not, from growing up with her. She's also the person who can press my buttons more than anyone else. It really is a special thing when we can come together in a musical context. I just feel a tremendous closeness, and I learn something every time. It's really a magical collaboration.”
How has Still’s importance of family reflected in the music on this recording?
Headlee: “His family life was his joy. When he wasn't composing and even when he was composing, he was at home. When he wasn't composing music, he was building toys for his children, like train sets. He composed a couple of pieces that he dedicated to his dog. It was about hearth and home for him. That started in his upbringing. He was raised by a mother who was fierce in her determination that he would make something of himself.
“When I listen to any of these pieces that sounds like my grandfather, it's hard to point to one or another that sounds more like family to me. It all does.”
Eisenberg: “I agree so much with what Celeste said in terms of his works being so varied, but they're also so quintessentially him. When I first started poring over the different scores I was sent, I was most struck by the variety.
“In my very first conversation with Celeste, she told me that Mother and Child was one of her favorites. That was a real moment of connection. As you can probably imagine, getting to record this most intimate piece and standing up there with my mother was just remarkable. It continues to be one of the most emotional tracks for me.”
Could you talk about Summer Land?
Headlee: “He wrote this for my grandmother, his wife. She premiered it originally. She was of Russian-Jewish descent and an accomplished concert pianist. He wrote that she had this incredible spread in her hands for a tiny woman. She was around 4-foot-10 and could just flatten out her hands completely. When that gets translated into the orchestra, it becomes magic.”
Do you believe that Still’s music has achieved its goal of serving a purpose larger than music?
Headlee: “His mother was the first of the family born at the end of the Civil War. They both came from a generation that believed if white people knew how smart and accomplished Black people could be; if they could impress people with their accomplishments, intellect, taste and wit; and if Black people could prove that they were deserving of equal treatment, that would make racism disappear. They were wrong about that.
“That was heartbreaking to my grandfather when he finally realized that no matter how talented he was, no matter what he achieved and attained, he would never be welcomed in the vaulted halls of classical music. He is now, but he wasn't when he died. He was forgotten. He was making his living writing pieces for elementary school textbooks, a job that Leopold Stokowski got him.”
What can we do to make people more aware of who he is and what he accomplished?
Headlee:“Avlana and her colleagues are doing that right now by seeking out those pieces that have not been heard or recorded before. We should listen to his music and feel the same kind of pride people feel when they hear [John Philip] Sousa. This is the sound of our soil. This is the sound of our nation.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch now
More on William Grant Still * Learning to Listen William Grant Still * Rhapsody in Black William Grant Still, the dean of African American composers
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You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Avlana Eisenberg conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with violinist Zina Schiff — William Grant Still: Summerland/Violin Suite/Pastorela/American Suite (Amazon)
Avlana Eisenberg (official site)
Celeste Headlee (official site)
Michael Repper and the New York Youth Symphony — Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman (Avie) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Michael Repper
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“Maybe it's because I come from the Marin Alsop school of conducting and how I was taught, but we want to build community,” conductor Michael Repper said. “We want to make the world a better place, and we want to be connecting people.”
In 2017, it was Repper’s mentor, Alsop, who recommended that he be the next conductor of the New York Youth Symphony.
“The age range of the orchestra is between 12 to 22,” he said. “That means each year we have many members of the orchestra who are students at the local conservatories and colleges, including the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University. That also means they may not be from New York; they come from all over the world.”
Why did you decide to feature works by three Black women composers?
“We were scheduled to play the Florence Price Piano Concerto on our concert at Carnegie Hall. It was actually going to be the Carnegie Hall premiere of that work. I still don't think it's been played there. In May 2020, we called [pianist] Michelle Cann, and I said, ‘Hey, would you like to do this?’ That was the first thing that went on the album.
“Also, we didn't rehearse with her. We were so concerned that if we scheduled a rehearsal in the week before the recording, somebody would get sick. Not only did we not want somebody to get sick, but we didn't want to jeopardize the project. We rehearsed with Cann for only an hour or so before we hit record.”
Can you talk about the principal oboist featured in the Piano Concerto?
“Her name is Kara Poling. She is one to watch. The middle section is a lyrical duo, and it gives me chills every time. She plays it so well.
“In 2020, particularly with the tragic murder of George Floyd, it was a moment to highlight music that dealt with inequities and oppression. I had always loved Price's Ethiopia’s Shadow in America. I was amazed that there hadn't been a recording of an American orchestra performing the work. I said that it has to be on the album for sure.
“This was the first time I conducted all four of these pieces, and I will continue to program them. I fell in love with the music the same way that everybody else did.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch now
More on youth orchestras * Youth orchestra strikes back at car ad that pokes fun at young players * School Spotlight: Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies
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Giveaway
You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Michael Repper and the New York Youth Symphony — Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman (New York Youth Symphony direct)
Michael Repper and the New York Youth Symphony — Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman (Avie store)
Michael Repper and the New York Youth Symphony — Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman (Amazon)
New York Youth Symphony (official site)
Michael Repper (official site)
Berta Rojas — Legado (Onmusic) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Berta Rojas
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“I named her La Rojita, the little red one, because she travels in a red case and my last name is Rojas,” Paraguayan guitarist Berta Roja said about her newly returned guitar, which was stolen the day after she recorded her latest release, Legado.
This recording illuminates pieces written by or as a tribute to two of the most illustrious and influential players in the history of classical guitar — Ida Presti and María Luisa Anido.
“I feel that these women who pioneered classical guitar paved the way for many of us to consider this a profession,” Roja said.
Why is Anido a revelation for you?
“Because I know all of her. I heard an interview where she talked about the difficulties she had traveling. The custom is that a woman playing guitar would travel by herself. She had to wait until both her parents died in 1950 to start playing concerts around the world.
“I find that her music is sincere and honest. I was blown away by the beauty of pieces like El Misachico, which is a tribute to her mother. It has a traditional rhythm from Argentina. It is a ritual dance. You can almost feel the body being carried to its final resting place in the drum accompaniment. The way she describes the passing of her mother with one single note is simple, yet very powerful.
“Presti is another pioneer of classical guitar. She was born in 1924 in France. She lived to 42, but those 42 years were enough for her to be considered the greatest classical guitar virtuoso of the 20th century.”
Why did you decide to create a video out of John Duarte’s Idylle Pour Ida Legado?
“It's one of my favorite pieces. I am touched by the beauty of this lament. When we where thinking of a piece that could symbolize or synthesize what we were trying to do with Legato, we thought that this could be a good piece to have a video of.
“That is what I intend to do with this album. I wanted to contribute more names to be a part of the conversation about the history of classical guitar. It is not only the names of great male composers and guitarists, but also the women.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch now
More on Berta Rojas * Cleveland.com Berta Rojas’ guitar returned after being stolen in Cleveland
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You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Berta Rojas — Legado (Amazon Music)
Berta Rojas — Legado (Berta Rojas site)
Berta Rojas (official site)
Nadine Sierra — Made for Opera (DG) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Nadine Sierra
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“My grandmother was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal. She had a beautiful voice and always loved music, especially classical and opera,” soprano Nadine Sierra said. “She wanted to become an opera singer, but my great-grandfather didn't allow her to pursue any kind of career. My whole life has been prepared and made for opera.”
Sierra dedicates her latest recording, Made for Opera, to her grandmother. It explores the operatic heroines that include Lucia from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Juliette from Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet and Violetta from Verdi’s La Traviata, who all had little control over their own destiny.
“We find that female roles played by women in opera are about women that cannot make decisions for themselves despite being these iconic figures. These are also women who are in a social prison. My grandmother grew up in that social prison. Today I have the power and the privilege to choose my destiny.”
Tell us why you're careful about choosing a role at the right point in your career.
“I didn't start to sing Violetta until recently. I felt that in my own life I had not experienced enough to play this character as believably as possible. I felt I needed to live a few more years in order to understand her.”
Tell us about the story and sections you've chosen to highlight on this recording from La Traviata.
“I decided to showcase Violetta in Act One and Three. In Act One she has her famous aria starting from ‘È Strano! È Strano’ and ending with ‘Sempre Libera.’ In the aria she meets Alfredo for the first time, and he tells her that he's in love with her.
“I also highlight her last aria, where she's dying. Alfredo has a sister and the more time he spends with Violeta ruins his sister's reputation and her possibility of marrying into a good family. So, Violetta makes the sacrifice. She lies to Alfredo telling him she's not in love with him anymore and she can't be with him. She sacrifices herself for another woman's love, which I love about Violetta. She's a special and empathetic character.”
How did working with a woman director give you a different perspective on Donizetti's character Lucia?
“This particular female director and I have both experienced things in our personal lives that are similar. Whether it be in a relationship or even a situation with a family member, we were able to better communicate what we wanted with the audience about Lucia.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Nadine Sierra — Made for Opera (Amazon)
Nadine Sierra — Made for Opera (DG Store)
Nadine Sierra (official site)
Amit Peled — Solus Et Una (CTM Classics)
New Classical Tracks - Amit Peled
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“The instrument I'm using for this recording helped me to feel more intune with myself because it's a cello that I received during the pandemic. It's a Grancino that was made in 1695,” Israeli-born cellist Amit Peled said. “Just before the pandemic, I had to return Pablo Casals’ cello, which I used before. The moment I touched this cello, I felt it. I'm basking in an imaginary hot chocolate bath. I'm not kidding.”
Peled calls his new cello, ‘Shoko.’ In Hebrew it means, hot chocolate. It brings out a special sense of warmth and comfort in the music on his latest recording, Solus Et Una.
“Solus Et Una means alone and together, which basically describes my time during the pandemic,” continued Peled. “I was artistically alone at first and throughout the middle. Towards the end of it I found ways to make music together with others.
“We found in the bubble situation we were basically isolating ourselves as a group in the mountains of Montana. This was a place where we could be mask less with no vaccination and do nothing but just walk and make music the way we used to. The nature and the ability to make music together again was a transformative revelation for all of us. Of course, this was inspired by the NBA bubble. My love for basketball showed me the light.”
How did this arrangement of Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3, II. Andante happen?
“I did what I usually do when I want to get inspiration. I stop thinking and I went for a walk. This Brahms symphony came to my mind while I was walking, which I love. I am also a conductor, and he is my favorite composer. I started hearing it in my mind. When I got back from the walk, I put it on Spotify. When I got to this movement, I could totally hear the cello sound.
“I have a conductor friend who arranges music, and he has a friend, who is on the album, that also does arrangements. He lives in Serbia. I contacted him and he sent me back the arrangement. He said it was easy. It's fit for eight cellos and piano. When we got to Montana, we rehearsed it every single day making changes to make it sound as close as possible to the symphony.”
Can you talk about Bach’s Cello Suite No.4?
“I had so much time to just play that suite. I said to myself, ‘Ok, stop judging yourself, just play.’ I played it every day until I fell in love with it. I played it as a song of love.
“I remember reading an interview with Yo-Yo Ma, where he said on his 60th birthday, ‘All I want now is to play and feel again like when I was a child and played the cello without any judgment.’ I never understood what he meant until the pandemic. You play, think and practice to your standard. But in a way, you must let go and do it. When we were kids, we play as if we were outside with friends. That's how I want to play the cello now.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Amit Peled — Solus Et Una (Amazon)
Amit Peled (official site)
Leif Ove Andsnes — Mozart Momentum: 1786 (Sony Classical) Jump to giveaway form
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“On stage you have to have a childlike openness,” Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes said. “There will be moments in concerts where I feel, ‘I’m creating now. It's actually happening in the moment.’ Also, there is nothing as beautiful as Mozart's music.”
Andsnes is an artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble that has no home base. They’re constantly moving because it wants to make music that gets to the core of things. Together, they’ve taken a deep dive in the creation of The Beethoven Journey, and now they’re flowing in sync, with Andsnes conducting from the piano on his latest album, Mozart Momentum: 1786.
What kind of momentum was Mozart creating?
“It's about the piano concerto and what happened with that genre during Mozart's life. He writes a concerto in a minor key for the first time with very serious and dramatic music. He starts to separate the soloist from the orchestra. You have dramatic and restless music during the opening from the orchestra, but the soloist enters afterwards with completely different music.
“That's the very first time this happens in any concerto. Mozart must have thought, ‘Oh, I'm on to something new here.’ For me, it's a revolution. It expands the storytelling and the narrative of what a piano concerto can be. You can look at soloists as an individual and the orchestra as a society. There is new psychological drama in it.”
How did Mozart’s love of opera inspire his piano concertos that are on the album?
“He was writing The Marriage of Figaro during this time and we hear it during the woodwind solos. He gives tremendous individuality and personality to each of the woodwind instruments. There are sections where I'm listening with pleasure to what they do in these concertos.”
Can you talk about the energy in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24?
“Normally we feel that it's very classical and balanced. The phrases are often eleven bars followed by five and then seven. He always makes sure we don't know what's coming next, so we have to guess. That guesswork gives the concerto its restless energy and drama.”
Tell us about ‘Ch’io Mi Scordi Di Te?’ and the soprano who sings it.
“The concert aria ‘Ch’io Mi Scordi Di Te?’ is text from Mozart’s opera Idomeneo. It’s unique how he makes the beauty of the soprano voice blend with the piano. It's like a duet. You know where one is without words and the other tells the story. There's no other piece like this in the literature. “
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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You must be 13 or older to submit any information to American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about things like our programs, products and services. See Terms of Use and Privacy. This giveaway is subject to the Official Giveaway Rules.
Resources Leif Ove Andsnes — Mozart Momentum: 1786 (Presto music)
Leif Ove Andsnes — Mozart Momentum: 1786 (Amazon)
Leif Ove Andsnes (official site)
Aznavoorian Duo — Gems From Armenia (Cedille)
New Classical Tracks - Aznavoorian Duo
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“It's like watching French films. It’s the simplest thing, yet you're bawling your eyes out,” pianist Marta Aznavoorian said. “These pieces are like that for us; they're memories. They're examples of what it means for us to be Armenian.”
The Aznavoorian Duo, which also features her sister, cellist Ani Aznavoorian, makes its debut with the album Gems From Armenia.
“Most Armenians have an extraordinarily strong sense of being Armenian, even if we weren't born there. We both have a strong sense of what it means to be Armenian,” Marta said about their heritage. “This music is like little windows to our memories of our grandparents, and recording it was quite cathartic.”
Why did you dedicate this recording to your grandfather?
Ani: “He was the godfather of our family. All decisions went through him, but he was an extremely loving grandfather, very present in our lives. He'd come over every day. He would have loved these Armenian tunes that reminded him of his childhood, of the sacrifices his parents made when they left Turkey and came to the United States.
“He would have related to all of Komitas’ music that starts the CD. Komitas is thought of as the grandfather of Armenian music. He's the one who created that Armenian flavor that we think of when we hear Armenian music.”
Can you talk about how the album is divided into three Armenian musical eras?
Marta: “Aram Khachaturian was very celebrated while he was alive. He discovered Arno Babajanian, another composer on our disc. Babajanian’s Elegy is one of the piano solo pieces on this disc that was for Khachaturian’s funeral.
“After Babajanian, we move to Alexander Arutunian, who was around the same generation of composers as Khachaturian. Ani and I grew up playing Arutunian’s Impromptu, which is also on this album. It’s become a part of us, so we really couldn't change anything. We could only play it the way we've always played it since we were little kids.
Tell us about Peter Boyer.
Ani: “Boyer is a wonderful composer. It was an interesting curveball for all of us when this idea came up. Everyone is used to him writing American themes and having this American sound. We wanted to surprise everyone.
“To make it work, we thought, why don't we have this American composer write something based on Armenia. What is a bigger symbol of Armenia than Mount Ararat?”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Aznavoorian Duo — Gems From Armenia (Cedille Store)
Aznavoorian Duo — Gems From Armenia (Amazon)
Ani Aznavoorian (official site)
Marta Aznavoorian (official site)
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet — Opalescent (Lagq Records)
New Classical Tracks - Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
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“One could argue that the original goal was that we needed to get an ‘A’ in this classical guitar ensemble we signed up for,” guitarist William Kanengiser said about how the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet started. “We're still working on it.”
LAGQ was formed 40 years ago at the University of Southern California, and its members are celebrating that occasion with their new release, which highlights the varied colors of the guitar, Opalescent.
“It started with a friendship I formed with Scott Tennant at one of Pepe Romero's master classes,” Kanengiser said. “This was before he arrived at USC, and Pepe was a member of Los Romeros, the most famous guitar quartet. He told Tennant and I that we should have a quartet.
“It wasn’t until two years later that we went from being the USC guitar quartet to the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. That's why we're celebrating our 40th anniversary now.”
Can you talk about Matt Greif, your newest member, who also studied with Pepe in Spain?
“Greif joined our group, and we call him the new guy. He's only been with us for 16 years. We're still breaking him in. He was my student at USC and has done beautiful arrangements for us, one of which is featured on the new recording.
“It was heartwarming to see the arrangement of Michael Hedges’ Aerial Boundaries. I hadn't realized he'd been gone for 25 years. To hear that piece of music brought back to life by four guitarists makes Hedges sound like he was actually playing four guitars.”
Why is it so important to have Hedges’ Aerial Boundaries on this recording?
“Hedges had a groundbreaking recording on Windham Hill called Ariel Boundaries. It just blew the socks off everybody. It changed finger-style guitar forever.
“The funny thing is, quite a bit of this arrangement is a straight cover of what he did. It speaks to his amazing virtuosity and creativity that it takes four of us to do what he did on one guitar. Greiff went off the beaten track in the arrangement with a minimal 12/8 section that also beautifully adds his voice to the piece. It seamlessly works its way back to the original Hedges’ track later on.”
Why did you dedicate the album to Australian composer Phillip Houghton?
“He's most famous in the guitar world for his suite for four guitars called Opals. It attempts to portray the glints and reflections you see when you rotate the Australian national stone, the opal.
“He passed away three years ago and when we had started playing Opals, we thought we should record this beautiful piece. That work started the whole idea of what other pieces can reflect on the intersection between light and sound, or between the colors of the guitar and the colors you would see in your mind.”
How does Frederick Hand’s The Chorale turn your quartet into a choir?
“It's unusual for us to have each person playing a single line as if we were singing. It's probably the hardest thing to do with four guitars.
“John Dearman liked to say, ‘You know, it took us half our career to figure out how to play together and the other half to figure out how not play together, but to be together.’ That requires years, and a lot of telepathy.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Los Angeles Guitar Quartet * Listen to the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet's recent Twin Cities concert * New Classical Tracks Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Resources Los Angeles Guitar Quartet — Opalescent (Amazon)
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (official site)
Yolanda Kondonassis — Five Minutes for Earth (Azica Records)
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“I had such a great time practicing new stuff,” harpist Yolanda Kondonassis said. “It rewires your neurons when you're sitting there for hours absorbing new music, new material, new techniques and new everything.”
During the pandemic Kondonassis had time and space to learn 15 new solo pieces for harp inspired by Earth for her latest album, Five Minutes for Earth.
How does this album fit into the mission of your nonprofit?
“My foundation, Earth at Heart, will sponsor and finance all ongoing performances of these five-minute pieces that are on the album every time they're performed. Any harpist anywhere in the world, if they can upload their performance and info to the Earth at Heart website, a contribution will be made to an Earth conservation organization.
“The idea was not only to inspire through the arts, but in the case of Five Minutes for Earth, it gives artists a way to contribute through their performances.”
Why is five minutes the magic number?
“Five minutes started as a construct. I asked myself, ‘What can I realistically ask composers to do or donate?’ I thought five minutes was a great metaphor for the time we have as a global community to get our act together.”
How would you describe Maximo Diego Pujol’s piece, Milonga Para Mi Tierra?
“Diego says it's a love song for my Earth, and I love that ownership. It's not just the Earth. It's my Earth. That's an important part of the title and subliminally threaded throughout. It's nostalgic and melancholy while remaining hopeful. It's awe inspiring to watch that work in progress.”
Can you talk about the composer and piece that opens the album?
“Takuma Itoh, who is based in Honolulu, Hawaii, composed Kohola Sings. He wrote this piece using the stunning effect. It's a string-bending maneuver that can imitate the songs of whales.”
Can you talk about Michael Daugherty’s Hear the Dust Blow?
“The initial idea came from the Dust Bowl period. The Grapes of Wrath and all that came from a convergence of elements. It was a combination of weather patterns and an abuse of the land. We learned something back then in the 1930s, but we need to learn it again.
“There are gorgeous, aching moments in this piece. The idea of wishing, hoping and dreaming of a new day and a better life are woven through his piece. It is the glue.
“Each piece has a small element of both looking back and forward. They are all so different from one another. But, if I were to try and narrow down a common thread with each work, it is that they all have a touch of melancholy combined with lots of hope.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Yolanda Kondonassis * From NPR Tiny Desk: Jason Vieaux And Yolanda Kondonassis * Performance Today In studio with Yolanda Kondonassis and Jason Vieaux * New Classical Tracks Yolanda Kondonassis premieres new harp concerto by Jennifer Higdon in 'American Rapture'
Resources Yolanda Kondonassis — Five Minutes for Earth (Amazon)
Yolanda Kondonassis (official site)
The Claremont Trio — Queen of Hearts (Tria)
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“The Claremont Trio started in 1999. Currently, our incredible pianist is Andrea Lam. She's from Sydney and is such a beautiful pianist and wonderfully fun collaborator,’ violinist Emily Bruskin said. “We've had a great time. The first pieces we learned together are works commissioned for our new CD, Queen of Hearts.”
Bruskin and her twin sister, cellist Julia Bruskin, formed the Claremont Trio while they were living on Claremont Avenue in New York City. They were students in a joint program between Columbia and Juilliard. Their new recording marks the group’s 20th anniversary, albeit a little late due to COVID. It features works that the Claremont Trio commissioned over the past two decades.
“It's fun for us. It takes us back to pieces from 2008, and then something from 2012 or 2016. It brings us back to memories from different points in our career when these pieces were written, when we were working on them or when we played them often. It was a fun way for us to revisit experiences over our 20 years together.”
How does the piece Queen of Hearts represent the Claremont Trio?
“Queen of Hearts is what Kati Agócs wrote for us, and it's an amazing piece; it's all in one movement. It's a spiritual journey from a very heartfelt, intuitive spiritual composer. She's a singer herself, and the piece is a long emotional journey. I think it's something that we enjoy playing. We're an all-women group, and she likes the symbolism of the Queen of Hearts. Its powerful resilient femininity made for a fun title for the disc.”
How is the concept of resilience represented in the music?
“She uses a chaconne in the music, which is basically a repeating bassline that goes throughout the music. When she was writing the piece, there were challenges in her personal life. She found the idea of returning to something familiar or dependable helpful. It's a beautiful way to write a composition, because even when you're wandering very deep in the woods, in the middle of the piece, you feel like you know where you are and where you want to get back to.”
Where does the title of Nico Muhly’s piece, Common Ground, come from?
“He was using the ground bass, which is like the chaconne. He also uses the piano and strings as opposites of each other in the piece. Common Ground is referring to two elements finding common ground. It is the piano on the strings, finding ways to work together.”
Could you talk about the three little pieces by Helen Grime?
“We were commissioning pieces to commemorate the grand opening of a concert hall in Boston at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum. She wanted art from the museum to inspire her works, and she picked out three Whistler miniatures. They’re little watercolor paintings that are incredibly beautiful, impressionistic, with subtle color palettes. Grime's music is kind of like that. It's evocative and as soon as it starts, you feel like you're in another world.
“It's so exciting to commission a new piece and to play music that nobody's ever heard before. It’s fun to collaborate with composers figuring out what inspired them and what's cool, exciting or gorgeous about their new piece of music.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on the Claremont Trio * Claremont Trio, 'Serenata'
Resources The Claremont Trio — Queen of Hearts (Amazon)
The Claremont Trio (official site)
Matt Haimovitz — Primavera II: The Rabbits (Pentatone)
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“Being immersed in this project confirms my belief that we are in a golden age of music,” cellist Matt Haimovitz said. “There's such a range of languages and talent out there. It's really extraordinary.”
Haimovitz has taken a few risks in his career. He’s tried different things to introduce people to classical music. His latest endeavor focuses on future generations of cellists. It’s a large-scale commissioning project, where 81 contemporary composers are invited to share their musical response to two paintings. The second recording in this six-album series, Primavera II: The Rabbits, was recently released.
“It centers on two paintings,” Hamiovitz said referring to the inspiration for the album. “One is Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, an iconic painting in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. When my partner, Jeffrianne Young, and I encountered this painting, we became obsessed with it. We started reading all about its mysteries, stories, narratives and symbolism.
“Around that time, we also discovered the Hirshhorn Gallery. We walked into a one-woman show by the great artist Charline von Heyl and were blown away by her work. We met with Charlene and talked about the Botticelli and the state of the world. She created Primavera 2020, a response to the Botticelli, for us. For this album, we asked all the composers to respond and engage those two paintings in any way they want.”
Why did you choose to commission 81 works?
“It was supposed to be nine, and it was supposed to be tone poems for cello and orchestra. All my orchestral dates dried up, and I was going nuts not having work. Basically, we changed the idea into a solo cello project. The nine composers that we started with recommend the next nine and so on. It became a viral commissioning project, which got nine layers deep.”
Can you give an example of where we might hear new and interesting sounds from the cello on this album?
“One interesting piece is by Niloufar Nourbakhsh, an Iranian composer. It's called Cyclical Rabbits, and I begin with plucking that sounds like an oud. It sounds like a Persian instrument. She gets that effect by using sticky tack on the string.
“I realize how important it is to advocate for these composers and to bring this music to life. I want to be part of the fabric of making sure that classical music is a vibrant living entity.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Matt Haimovitz * Matt Haimovitz welcomes back his cherished cello * Matt Haimovitz on residency, Bach and Beethoven
Resources Matt Haimovitz — Primavera II: The Rabbits (Pentatone store)
Matt Haimovitz — Primavera II: The Rabbits (Amazon music)
Matt Haimovitz (official site)
Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà — Elle (Analekta)
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“After 25 years of playing together, we can recognize the sound, color, texture and characterization of La Pietà very well, but I'm looking for that extra sparkle I call energy,” violinist Angèle Dubeau said about the passion each member has brought to this all-female ensemble over the years to include its new release, Elle.
When Dubeau formed La Pietà in 1997, her goal was simply to assemble a dozen musicians for a new Vivaldi recording. When she realized all the musicians were women, she named the ensemble after the orphanage for girls where Vivaldi taught in Venice, La Pietà.
Is there more to the record’s title?
“Yeah, it's ‘she,’ or ‘elle,’ in the singular, because I thought that each woman is unique. That's a little detail, and this album marks the 25th anniversary of La Pietà. I wanted to have an album conceived, played and composed all by women. It makes me proud to be a woman when I listen to this album.
“All women on the album, except one, are contemporary composers. The exception is Hildegard von Bingen, because I thought if we have wonderful composers of today why not showcase one of the first composers of the 12th century?”
Can you tell me about the commissioned work and who composed it?
“That’s Ana Sokolović. I asked her to write a suite of movements. She decided to do a suite of dances called Girandole des Danses imaginaires. Each movement is a different dance and tells a unique story.
“There's also another work composed for the album from Katia Makdissi-Warren; she’s also from Montreal. It’s called, Mémoire, and it’s from an Inuit tradition that has been handed down from mother to daughter.”
Tell me about Elena Kats-Chernin’s ‘Re-Inventions.’
“It's a piece that she first wrote for recorder and strings. Now it's for violin and strings. It's just a small re-orchestration of the piece. The work is based on a two-part invention by Bach. It's bubbly and really fun.”
What has surprised you the most about what you and this ensemble have achieved?
“What makes me most proud is to know that our music accompanies people while they endure daily life, whether it’s happy or sad, or small or great moments.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Angèle Dubeau * Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà perform Ludovico Einaudi and Brubeck * Angèle Dubeau offers meditative music from contemporary composers
Resources Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà — Elle (Archambault store)
Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà — Elle (Amazon music)
Angèle Dubeau (official site)
Jennifer Kloetzel and Robert Koenig — Beethoven: The Conquering Hero (AVIE)
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“People don't often think of Beethoven as this stormy, moody composer, but I think there's such sweetness, depth and cleverness in his music,” cellist Jennifer Kloetzel said. “The dialog between instruments fascinates me. Every time I come back to a work of his, I want to learn more about it and dig a little deeper. That is a sign of a great composer.”
Kloetzel has been crazy about Beethoven for as long as she can remember. As a founding member of the Cypress String Quartet, she spent 20 years performing and recording his music. Together, with pianist Robert Koenig, she has recorded the composer’s complete works for cello and piano, on a new three-CD set called, Beethoven: The Conquering Hero.
“At the beginning, there's a lot of piano. It's very piano heavy,” Kloetzel said about the Beethoven sonatas. “The cello is not an accompanying instrument necessarily, but there are moments. So for example, in the first set of variations the cello does not get the main theme until the 10th variation.
“But as we advance through the time period, you see the two instruments become more equal. Sonata No. 3 in A Major is considered the first true partnership of cello and piano. It starts with a long cello solo. I think Beethoven was saying, ‘Here it is! The cello is going to carry this, and the piano will come in later.’”
Why was it bold for your childhood teacher to place Beethoven's Sonata No. 2 on your music stand?
“It is the one sonata that Beethoven wrote for cello and piano that is in a minor key. One of the greatest things about him is how he plays with contrast and context. You have this very dark introduction, which you get released from and it feels like the sun has come out even though it's still in a minor key. There's something about those contrasts and how he creates an experience for the listener that I find just constantly interesting.”
Why is Beethoven the conquering hero in your mind?
“The composer himself conquered a lot of things in his life from losing his hearing to never finding love. There were many struggles for him. Yet, he kept writing music and he kept bringing us his cleverness and beauty.
“Beethoven once said in German, ‘Art demands of us that we shall not stand still.’ I love that idea, and I feel like that's what happens when I'm in the recording studio giving it my all. Then I walk out of there and I need to find fresh ideas so I'm not doing exactly what I've been doing before.“
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Jennifer Kloetzel * New Classical Tracks Cypress String Quartet add two for Brahms * New Classical Tracks Cypress String Quartet - Beethoven: The Early String Quartets
Resources Jennifer Kloetzel and Robert Koenig — Beethoven: The Conquering Hero (AVIE Store)
Jennifer Kloetzel and Robert Koenig — Beethoven: The Conquering Hero (Amazon)
Jennifer Kloetzel (official site)
Lara Downes — Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered (Rising Sun Music)
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Pianist Lara Downes is reconsidering Scott Joplin, who he was and what he did. Joplin was an incredible innovator who really brought American music into the 20th century. Downes digs deeper into his legacy in her latest recording, Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered.
Why did you want to learn Joplin’s music, which many of us learned about from the movie The Sting?
“Even by the age of 7, I was pretty deep into classical music. My sound world was classical music. I heard his music and thought it was really exciting. It's really fun. There was also Paul Newman in the movie. That didn't hurt. So I learned ‘The Entertainer,’ and I think it was kind of a treat. In my world, my early training was pretty rigorous.
“It's really clear to me now that this whole journey into American music has transformed the way I hear and understand it. It's fun. It's reconnecting with my little girl self, but through a different lens.”
Can you talk about the arrangement of ‘The Entertainer’ you created?
“It was easy and obvious to me what I wanted to do with many of these pieces, but I will admit that ‘The Entertainer’ kind of posed a problem. We've heard it so many times and I realized the answer had been literally staring me in the face. On the title page of the piece Joplin dedicates ‘The Entertainer’ to James Brown and his mandolin club.”
Where did you find ‘A Picture of Her Face,’ which you world-premiered with baritone Will Liverman?
“This is such an example of the music sitting right there for everyone to find, and we're somehow not finding it. There's this huge digital database of public domain sheet music, IMSLP. We all use it. I was just going through all the Joplin stuff to make sure there was nothing I overlooked, and there's this art song called ‘A Picture of Her Face.’
“That same day I was texting with my friend Will Liverman, and we were checking in about some things. ‘What are you up to?’ And I said, ‘I'm going to the studio. I'm working on this Joplin project,’ and he's like, ‘Oh, I love Joplin!’”
Are you really the only performer on ‘Eugenia’?
“Oh, you're hearing a lot of stuff inside the piano that we put in there, because I kept saying to [producer] Adam [Abeshouse], ‘I want to play around with different sounds and colors.’ He said, ‘OK, hold on a second.’ He goes and gets all these rolls of tape and some chains, and he's putting it in the piano. He said, ‘OK, sit down, and try it again.’ I think it ends up sounding like one of those saloons where Joplin would have played.”
How does this music reflect who you are?
“I'm lucky enough to be what Joplin wanted to be. No one's getting in my way. It’s amazing for those of us, especially artists of color, who are living now. We are having for the first time the incredible experience of bringing the music of Black artists who came before us to the general public and having that be welcomed.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Lara Downes * Lara Downes creates Black-focused label Rising Sun Music * Pianist Lara Downes re-centers the music of the Great Migration
Resources Lara Downes — Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered (Lara Downes’ Website)
Lara Downes — Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered (Amazon Music)
Lara Downes (official site)
Simone Dinnerstein — Undersong (Orange Mountain Music) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Simone Dinnerstein
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“It was a very funny afternoon because I was lying on my bed with my dog, Daisy, watching it on my phone,” pianist Simone Dinnerstein said about learning her recording American Mosaic received a recent Grammy Nomination for ‘Best Classical Instrumental Solo recording.’ “When they announced my name, I couldn't believe it. I almost fell off the bed. It was a hysterical moment”.
American Mosaic was one of two recordings Dinnerstein released last year. Now she’s releasing her third album composed during the pandemic, the final in an inspired trilogy of recordings titled Undersong.
“Undersong is a beautiful word that I discovered. I was looking around for words that would speak to the idea of a refrain, because every piece of music on this album has a refrain,” said Dinnerstein. “The has an almost rondeau form to it with its returning theme.
“I also thought that under song has also been used as the underlying thread that holds together our world. I think that's why composers and people are drawn to refrains. It connects us to something quite deep. We like to return. We like to go home. We like to revisit things and this music is doing that.”
Can you talk more about the overall cohesion of the album?
“I think a lot about how pieces of music from different time periods can speak to each other, and this particular program is one that I conceived a few years ago. I was touring it before the pandemic started. It has Couperin, Schumann, Glass and Satie on it.
“One part that I find particularly striking is I have performed Schumann's ‘Arabesque’ and then I go into Philip Glass's ‘Mad Rush.’ In this ‘Arabesque',’ that final epilogue is like Schuman stepping out of time and writing something that we could hear composed today. The way it flows into ‘Mad Rush’ feels like it could have been the same person who composed both of those pieces.”
What is the importance of François Couperin’s tracks on the album?
“‘Les Barricades Mysterieuses,’ is a piece that I first discovered in a film that I really love called The Tree of Life. That film is all about family. The music is used loosely as a theme throughout the film and I associated that piece with family.
“The under song for me is my connection with my family, husband, son, parents and my roots here.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Simone Dinnerstein * Performance Today An American Mosaic * New Classical Tracks Simone Dinnerstein makes the most out of lockdown
Resources Simone Dinnerstein — Undersong (Simone’s Website)
Simone Dinnerstein — Undersong (Amazon Music)
Simone Dinnerstein (official site)
Catalyst Quartet — Uncovered, Vol. 2: Florence B. Price (Azica)
New Classical Tracks - Catalyst Quartet
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“She just wanted a chance, and she never really got it,” violist Paul Laraia said about composer Florence Price. “It's so fulfilling that we were able to release all of this chamber music. Four of these works have never been recorded.”
Last year, his group, the Catalyst Quartet, launched its first album in a series of recordings commemorating historically important Black composers. The group’s latest CD, Uncovered, Vol. 2: Florence B. Price, is the second recording in that series.
Why is the title “Uncovered” significant?
“Back in 2018, when we were formulating this project, we thought about that title. We felt that it best described the reality in which these composers’ music never went away. We needed to focus attention back onto them.
“In the case of some of these works, like the works of Florence Price, there was a little bit of detective work. We had to go to the actual library in Arkansas and collect manuscripts in order to make this recording, because the publishing companies that own the rights just aren't pumping out the music fast enough for it to be heard.”
Can you tell me about the featured guest, Michelle Cann?
“She's just incredible. She is a consummate chamber musician and has all of the incredible facilities and musical intellect to solo. She also separately was taking up her own mission involving the music of Florence Price.
“Having her perspective was a really great thing for us, even for all four of us when we play the other pieces that didn't have piano. For instance, one rehearsal we were working on the ‘Juba’ movement from the long Piano Quintet in A minor. We were asking Michelle what her take was on swinging some of the rhythms.
“To the nonexpert, it can sound like ragtime, but Michelle told us that we needed to listen to the Robert Nathaniel Dett version to get the idea of what was in Price's ears when she was writing those rhythms.”
Can you talk about what we hear in 5 Folk Songs in Counterpoint?
“There's an emotional and conversational aspect to every one of the entrances and voices that take us with a through line. In the case of the five folk songs, I think there's a through line that spans the entire work. We feel this journey going all the way through. The third movement is a slow chorale that’s really gorgeous, and I think it serves as an emotional center point.
“The goal is not for our recording to be the only definitive set. The music is so dense that it can be interpreted so many ways. It deserves a collective effort in order to move us closer to having better and stronger interpretations of her music and for her music to be more widely available and known.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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More on Florence Price and the Catalyst Quartet * Rhapsody in Black Florence Price meets Frederick Stock * New Classical Tracks Catalyst Quartet honors Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Resources Catalyst Quartet — Uncovered, Vol. 2: Florence B. Price (Amazon Music)
Catalyst Quartet (official site)
Steven Beck — George Walker: Five Piano Sonatas (Bridge)
New Classical Tracks - Steven Beck
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“No one had recorded all of the sonatas on a single disc before,” pianist Steven Beck said about his new album, George Walker: Five Piano Sonatas. “Although Walker recorded the first two himself.”
That’s one reason Beck decided to record the piano sonatas. He lives and performs in New York City with the new music group Da Capo Chamber Players. Contemporary music has been a passion of his, but the music of American composer George Walker has been stirring in his bones.
“My mother is a pianist. She went to Peabody in the ‘70s, when Walker was teaching there. I knew about his music from her,” Beck said. “Then one of my teachers at Juilliard, Seymour Lipkin, had been a classmate of Walker’s at Curtis. Walker was the first black graduate of that school.”
Why do you think it has taken so long for someone to record all of these sonatas on an album?
“It could be that some of them are quite difficult and have not been played, except by the people for whom they were written. Walker studied with the same teacher as Samuel Barber. It was Italian composer Rosario Scalero. There's a family resemblance between Barber and Walker's early music. I especially hear it in the first two sonatas. I hear something that reminds me of the Barber piano sonata sometimes.”
Can you talk about the evolution of Walker's sonatas?
“The first two sonatas were written while he was still a student. He did his doctorate at Eastman. It was a more conscious project in a way. Whereas the latter three, they get more personal. They're different formal solutions to things.
“I really enjoy the Third Sonata. Its second movement, ‘Bell,’ is just one very complicated chord repeated 17 times. The last movement is ‘Chorale & Fughetta.’ It has a very specific texture. The chorale plays long notes with very short chords underneath. The fughetta is a very personal modern take that doesn't sound academic at all. It's very free and organic.”
What makes the shortest sonata, No. 5, so significant?
“I like the Fifth because it's short and has variety. It begins very emphatically. It's actually a very good opening for a concert. When I do them all in one show I like to start with the Fifth.
“These are very worthy pieces, and I hope that this recording will inspire people to learn them. I think they're great.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Steven Beck — George Walker: Five Piano Sonatas (Bridge Store)
Steven Beck — George Walker: Five Piano Sonatas (Amazon)
Steven Beck (Steinway & Sons)
Francesca Anderegg and Matthew McCright — Brave New Worlds: Music from the Americas (Proper Canary)
New Classical Tracks - Francesca Anderegg
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“I had carpal tunnel syndrome, so playing through the piece was really hard. Actually, some pieces we had to record in sections because I just physically couldn't play through it and have pictures of recording it,” said violinist Francesca Anderegg about recording sessions with pianist Matthew McCright. “I had bandages on my wrists. I almost couldn't do it.”
She developed carpal tunnel syndrome due to her pregnancy. Fortunately, her wrists are now back to normal and all of her hard work you’ll hear on her new recording, Brave New Worlds: Music of the Americas.
Can you talk about the broken social barriers and international connections the composers on this album made?
“Many of these pieces were written when there was great interest in Pan-American, or a collaboration between North and South America.
“Not all these composers were related to each other necessarily. I just had this idea about reaching out beyond a limited sphere and expanding your reach internationally or socially. It was this idea of expansion.”
Can you talk about Alberto Ginastera’s Pampeana No. 1 and how it reflects the style of his homeland?
“Pampeana No. 1 is the first of a set of pieces written for various instruments. It is influenced by the Pampas, the grasslands of western Argentina. It's meant to evoke this idea of spaciousness in the music, and you can hear that in the first phrase. The violin has this soaring free rhapsodic line.”
Why does this arrangement of Aaron Copeland’s Duo for Violin and Piano have a special place in your heart?
“My teacher, Robert Mann, had a sense of humor. When I look at this arrangement and some of the chords, especially the chords in the first movement, there's a series of three chords that sound like the last part of the piece followed by silence. Then, like nothing happened, there's another louder one followed by another even louder chord. Those chords are so true to what I knew of his sense of humor. He enjoyed music that was sometimes abrupt, a little bit funny or had a punchy quality to it. I also enjoy music when it's a little bit unexpected.”
Do you think that Amy Beach’s Violin Sonata would have entered the recital repertoire if it had been composed by a Central European male?
“I can certainly see that, but I don't want to elevate Amy Beach by saying, ‘Oh, it's so similar to Brahms.’ Being so familiar with the Brahms violin sonatas, I see a lot of commonalities there. But, Amy Beach’s is technically difficult for the violin. She will just take the whole line and put it two octaves higher.
“At the very end of the third movement there's a section where the whole pitch range of the piece goes higher and higher. It evaporates into a twilight texture. You have a sense that the piece is going on forever. It's a magical phrase that has many striking and deep moments.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Francesca Anderegg and Matthew McCright — Brave New Worlds: Music from the Americas (Amazon Digital)
Francesca Anderegg (official site)
Marc-André Hamelin — Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Sonatas & Rondos (Hyperion)
New Classical Tracks - Marc-André Hamelin
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“They shouldn't expect anything quite as exciting as drum and bass. Give it a minute or two, because the riches that some music offers may not be apparent at first,” said pianist Marc-André Hamelin, encouraging you to check out his latest two-CD compilation, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Sonatas & Rondos.
“I can tell you how it all started. My wife, Cathy Fuller, was a classical radio host in Boston in 2008 or 2009. She chose to play a little Sonata in E Minor, which is not even eight minutes for the three movements,” he said. “Suddenly, the composer decides to finish the piece. It just cuts off in the middle of a phrase.
“This was absolutely what Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote, and I thought this was worth exploring. I started sight reading at the keyboard, and I was just fascinated by how daring and delightful it was.”
Can you talk about how this composer was the first one you performed?
“The first time I was on a stage was at a local competition in Montreal when I was 9. I played a group of five pieces, but the first piece was a little work in G Major. The score said it was by J.S. Bach. It has since been determined that it was composed by C.P.E. Bach. So in essence, C.P.E. Bach was the first composer I ever played in public.
“I just strolled to the piano confidently and played my music from the very beginning. From that instant I realized that I just didn't have any kind of stage fright.”
Did you write a piece based on the Solfeggio in C minor?
“Yeah, I've written three pieces specifically for the player piano. It’s like Conlon Nancarrow, who devoted his whole life to the player piano. It was partly inspired by him and the fact that I grew up with a player piano as a medium because my grandparents had one.”
Can you give us examples of the evolving mechanics of the keyboard through C.P.E. Bach’s compositions?
“There was one piece that was written for ‘A’ [his] clavichord where, while the title is very explicit, he is bidding farewell to an instrument that he had owned for decades. He was giving it as a present to somebody. This piece is slow and wistful.
“He said in the letter to the future owner, this piece is absolutely impossible to play on any other instrument. It would be interesting if it had survived, which I don't believe it has. If you played the clavichord, as I have tried to do, it's not easy. You get a sense of what this piece could sound like.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Marc-André Hamelin — CPE Bach Sonatas & Rondos (Hyperion Store)
Marc-André Hamelin — CPE Bach Sonatas & Rondos (Amazon)
Marc-André Hamelin (official site)
JoAnn Falletta and the BPO — Light in a Time of Darkness (Beau Fleuve)
New Classical Tracks - JoAnn Falletta
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“I found that the smaller concerts we did all the time during the 2021 season were fantastic for us in developing new skills,” said JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. “We learned how to listen and lead each other in repertoire that we never played.
“We made a recording of some of our favorite pieces from that time, because they were meaningful. Every concert is meaningful, but, somehow, when you're playing in the middle of something as dark as what we lived through, it meant ‘life,’’’ she said about their new recording, Light in a Time of Darkness.
“Six pieces made it onto the disc, and I think we'll always treasure, in our memories, the idea of being together and knowing that somehow we would get through this.”
Why did you choose to start the album with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis?
“Time gets suspended in this piece. Vaughan Williams, on his way back to Thomas Tallis, chose one of his hymns to recast for strings. It feels ageless or timeless. That was what the pandemic was like, time standing still.”
How did you discover Ulysses Kay’s Pieta?
Stanislav Traykov/Wikipedia
Michelangelo Buonarroti's sculpture 'Pieta' is housed in St. Peter's Basilica.
“I have to give complete credit to my English hornist, Anna Mattix. She is a sleuth for English horn pieces, and she's fabulous. She rediscovered this piece, and there was no recording when she brought it to me. I thought it was extraordinary.
“Kay was the first Black American to win the Prix de Rome. When he was in Rome, he went to see Michelangelo's Pieta and wrote this piece about it. It is filled with his personal reflection on that work of art.”
What do you love most about George Walker's Lament?
“I'm so glad we did this piece. I think this is an American classic. We talk about Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, but this is a similar piece. It's a piece of mourning and in Walker's case, it is more intimate. It has a lot of inner feeling of mourning, but it's unforgettable.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources JoAnn Falletta and the BPO — Light in a Time of Darkness (BPO Store)
JoAnn Falletta (official site)
The Singers — Come to the Woods (Arsis Audio)
New Classical Tracks - Matthew Culloton
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“We are all loud or pensive about things,” said Matthew Culloton, artistic director of the Singers, talking about the ensemble’s 10th recording. “At times, we may be lonely, but also reflective and hopeful. Naming the album Come to the Woods, after Jake Runestad's piece and John Muir’s words, was a great launching point.”
Can you tell us why it took so long to release this recording?
“I actually edited and produced the CD on my own computer software years ago. We finally had time to get back to our engineer, David Trimble, and really work with it. Even though I had already assembled and listened to it, it was also a start over with fresh ears. The pandemic gave us time.”
Is there a section in the piece Come to the Woods that you look forward to?
“There's a section later in the piece where Runestad pays a small musical tribute to Dominick Argento, one of his favorite composers. He does this by quoting a very special cadence point in the poetry. That's a spot where I find myself taking more time over the years with each new performance of the work.
“The choir sings, ’The setting sun filled them with amber light and seemed to say. And when he sets and seemed to say.’ That’s the final sung cadence of Walden Pond, and I get goose bumps thinking about it. I remember the first time I heard it. I ran to the piano with my score just to make sure I heard it right.”
Can you tell us about Dominique Argento's Seasons?
“I thought it was important to put Dominic’s last work in this collection. I get choked up a little bit thinking about the final movement, ‘Summer,’ and it being his last work. I don't know if he wrote them in that order poetically, but I love the idea that he wrote ‘Summer’ last. His last words were, ‘Soon, the goddess of summer sees that all is proceeding as planned, though reluctant to leave, she nods and sadly bestows her loving benediction.’”
Why did you chose Moira Smiley's Stand in That River?
“She is such a breath of fresh air in her approach to writing, sharing and recognizing global traditions in her music. This piece definitely comes back to American folk music.
“On this recording, the departure for us wasn't so much the piece itself, but that we included a bass, guitar, guiro, cajon and mandolin. Those five instruments are all played by one of our baritones, Paul Winchester. The end result was infectious, which is not the best word to use these days, but I think it’s very likable.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources The Singers — Come to the Woods (The Singers Store)
Matthew Culloton (official site)
The Singers (official site)
Daniel Hope — Hope (DG)
New Classical Tracks - Daniel Hope
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“Music doesn't let me go. I always knew that it was the focus of my life, but it became a lifeline,” violinist Daniel Hope said about the pandemic. “It became a lifeline to the outside world. It was the luxury of time and connections to so many musicians that were willing to experiment and improvise that helped me find hope.”
That resulted in his most creative project to date, his new recording with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Hope.
“I've been music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra since 2016,” he said. “I've known them since I was a little boy. I heard them when I was 3, and it was the first orchestra that I experienced a violin concerto and symphony. An explosive and emotional orchestral sound came from the ensemble. I never dreamed that 40-odd-years later, I would be the music director, and we've grown enormously together since.”
How did the idea for this album emerge?
“Throughout the lockdown, we started an online series concerts, Hope at Home. Our message was to rediscover hope through music. The connection between these ideas of positive feelings, energy and music was so strong that we decided to make an album which tries to tap into them. I did feel there was a tremendous connection to the people, and that meant a lot to me during the lockdown. That's really how this album came together.”
Why did you focus on songs and the human voice on this new recording?
“It was very hard for musicians not to be able to perform and travel during the pandemic. But for vocalists, in particular, the idea of singing was banned, more or less. You were just not allowed to sing. The images of people singing from their balconies and connecting via Zoom was so powerful and moving. I thought, let's put the idea of the human voice at the center of this album.”
Can you talk about the evolution of the opening work by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez?
“I heard this piece as a child. I became obsessed with this gorgeous recording of it by Jose Carreras. I said to myself one day I want to play this on the violin. I actually wanted to sing it, but I realized my voice wasn't good enough to do that. I thought, why not create a version with violin? I had this idea for decades.”
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To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Daniel Hope — Hope (Amazon)
Daniel Hope — Hope (DG Store)
Daniel Hope (official site)
Anthony McGill and Gloria Chien — Here With You (Cedille)
New Classical Tracks - Anthony McGill and Gloria Chien
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“It’s not just the two of us as musicians together or as musical partners, but Here With You also means that performers are with the audience,” said clarinetist Anthony McGill about his first album as a duo with pianist Gloria Chien. “We're with the listener. We're also with the composer. It’s about us all here with each other, together.”
Fifteen years ago, the duo made a special connection over the music of Johannes Brahms at the Music@Menlo festival. Chien was a participant and McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic and artistic director of the Music Advancement Program for young students at the Juilliard School, was her coach.
How did the two of you bond over the music of Brahms?
McGill: “It goes back to our original meeting with Brahms. Pianists and clarinetists throughout history have loved these particular works because these two sonatas by Brahms are some of the greatest chamber pieces ever written.”
Chien: “We talked about doing this album for a long time, and with these pieces. The Brahms and Weber grew with us. We had the space and time to really spend with this music. The Brahms has a timeless quality that almost suspends time.”
What in Brahms’ music do you feel can provide hope for the future?
McGill: “There's something about the way he puts together the narrative in music. The way the harmonies roll by in the storyline that he weaves in his pieces enables you to reflect. In Brahms’ music you hear all of these waves of emotion and expression.
“In the end of the first movement of the second sonata, there's a part where the tension is building. It is then released into this gloriously beautiful soft tranquil section where the harmonies show us the joy and sweetness of life. They are revealed right after the most intense moment of pain and passion.”
How does Jessie Montgomery's composition fit into the concept of the album?
McGill: “We knew that this work, Peace, needed to be on the album to make a stamp. The stamp is a very large mark of where we are in the world. ‘Who are we with? How do we feel?’ It helps to bring people into where we are.”
Chien:“What we all learned we are missing the most is that craving for connection. Here With You, is really a tribute to this time.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Anthony McGill and Gloria Chien — Here With You (Cedille Store)
Anthony McGill and Gloria Chien — Here With You (Amazon)
Anthony McGill (official site)
Gloria Chien (official site)
Víkingur Ólafsson — Mozart and Contemporaries (DG)
New Classical Tracks - Víkingur Ólafsson
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“I think the good thing about Iceland is that you have a certain sense of freedom and you have to find your own path,” said pianist Víkingur Ólafsson about how he experienced growing up in Iceland in the 1990s. “My mother was a piano teacher and a very good one. But she never pushed me. She would rather have me go out and play football with my friends and be a normal kid.”
That sense of freedom has extended into his live performances and his recordings. This past summer, Ólafsson made his long-awaited debut at the BBC Proms, where he offered a preview of his new release, Mozart and Contemporaries.
Why are you trying to change people's perceptions of Mozart?
“I think we all come to Mozart with a certain amount of baggage. For instance, if you're a piano student and play the easy pieces of Mozart when you're 7 or 8, then your teachers are sort of indoctrinating the myth of Mozart upon you. They're telling you about his unparalleled genius and scaring you with the idea of him. I went to see the Magic Flute when I was 7. It was the first opera I had ever saw and I remember just being pale afterwards thinking, ‘Oh my God, he must have written this when he was 7. What have I done with my life?’
“The whole album is an exploration of not Mozart-the-Wunderkind, but rather the mature Mozart. I believe that is the Mozart that we know today and what we think of when we think of him.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Víkingur Ólafsson — Mozart and Contemporaries (Center Stage Store)
Víkingur Ólafsson — Mozart and Contemporaries (Amazon)
Víkingur Ólafsson (official site)
More on Víkingur Ólafsson * Víkingur Ólafsson wants to change your mind about Mozart
On New Classical Tracks, we love sharing with you the most exciting new recordings every year. And, when you enter our weekly CD giveaways, you show us how excited you are about these recordings, too. Find out which albums made the list of 10 most coveted new releases of 2020.
Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick, with Jackie Moran — A Star in the East (Flower Pot Productions) Jump to giveaway form
New Classical Tracks - Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick
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Last year around this time, Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick, who are usually quite busy with their early music ensembles, had the time and space to finally make music together. That special musical connection has just produced their second recording, A Star in the East. It features more original music, and a fresh look at some familiar Christmas melodies.
How do we hear Christmas throughout the album?
Carolyn: “I don't think Christmas will ever be the same after 2020. We're transforming the music the way our lives and Christmas have been transformed. One beautiful way this CD and music came together was in the ‘Carol of the Bells.’ Ron did a beautiful arrangement, which gets overlaid with ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.’
“You also have the ‘L’Homme Arme,’ which is a piece of music that most people have no idea what it is. It's part of our musical history because it was an incredibly popular tune in the 16th and late 15th-century.
“‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is definitely not a gamba and lute piece. I'm sure that this piece has never been recorded with gamba and lute before. We were in the process of looking at pieces that we love that have something meaningful to say.”
Can you tell me about ‘What Wondrous Love Is This/ Walking In The Air’?
Ronn: “I brought ‘Walking In The Air’ to one of our rehearsals. It's something that I had loved for a long time because it was from the animated Christmas movie The Snowman. The idea of putting it together along with ‘What Wondrous Love Is This’ and creating a sort of bridge between the two was completely Carolyn's inspiration.”
Can you talk about the title track that you wrote for Carolyn?
Ronn:“I actually wrote it before we recorded our first album, Fermi's Paradox. I felt so happy and excited to play with Carolyn. I wanted to create some music specifically for us and also write for viola da gamba in a way that exploited what it can do.”
Carolyn: “I can tell you exactly what it was like the first time we played it. ‘Oh, this is so beautiful!’”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Resources Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick, with Jackie Moran — A Star in the East (Amazon)
Ronn McFarlane (official site)
Carolyn Surrick (official site)
The Knights — Before Christmas (Bright Shiny Things)
New Classical Tracks - The Knights
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“This album took as much time as building the perfect dessert or pastry over the course of years,” said Eric Jacobsen, conductor of the Knights. “Yet at the same time, it's meant to make people happy and be that taste you love so much.”
Over the past 20 years, Jacobsen has created a sense of trust with the orchestral collective he co-founded, allowing different members to take the lead on special projects. Their latest recording, Before Christmas, is a perfect example and perfect pastry. It’s the brainchild of Christina Courtin. She’s a violinist with the Knights, as well as a singer, songwriter, producer and engineer.
Christina, why was this project important to you?
Christina: “I've always been really interested in holiday records. I love Christmas records. I love listening to that music. When Eric approached me about doing it, I was really excited, but also a little nervous. It’s like your best friend giving you the keys to the Porsche.”
Who is the biggest surprise guest on this album?
Christina: “Anthony Roth Costanzo, because I personally don't have a relationship with him. I was unsure if he was going to work with me. We recorded him singing first, which was kind of unusual. Usually, the band will record first and then the soloist gets to overdub on top of that.”
Eric: “There was a freedom in his singing because he got to record it with his own pianist. The orchestra then had to listen many times to get his inflections and be an organ, breathe and a string section at the same time. That was really fun.”
Can you talk about the inspiration behind the piece “The Kazoo”?
Christina: “I'm a big fan of Wu Man. For me; there's a lot of humor in music. I thought of this and started laughing. I thought it was so funny. I was really surprised when she said yes. I wasn't sure she was going to agree to it. I'm really happy, and I have a strong feeling about it. I really wanted to do it.”
Can you talk about your arrangement of “Little Drummer Boy” for folk group I'm With Her?
Christina: It was challenging because there was one member of that band, who will remain nameless, who was dead set on not singing ‘a-rum-pum-pum-pum.’ She was OK with the song, but she just was opposed to that part of it. So there's no a-rum-pum-pums in this version of “Little Drummer Boy.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources The Knights — Before Christmas (Bright Shiny Things Store)
The Knights — Before Christmas (Amazon)
The Knights (official site)
Christina Courtin (official site)
Eric Jacobsen (official site)
Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma — Hope Amid Tears: Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas (Sony)
New Classical Tracks - Emanuel Ax
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“Yo-Yo and I, back in the fall, we're able to do some concerts on the back of a truck. We did 20-minute concerts in various places in parking lots for nurses, teachers and UPS delivery people,“ said pianist Emanuel Ax about performing during the pandemic. “I hope that brought them a little pleasure.
“I've also been practicing a lot, mainly because I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't practice. I have no life. That's what I do. The one silver lining for me was that I didn't have to get nervous every three days before a concert because I tend to get nervous. That was kind of a relief.”
Now, Ax and his longtime collaborator and friend Yo-Yo Ma have released their re-recording of Beethoven’s cello concertos.
Tell us about your new recording, Hope Amid Tears, with Ma.
“Yo-Yo Ma and I have done this going on 50 years. It's a very long time. It's one of the privileges of my life to have been doing this with Ma. I would be a very different person, musician and probably a much lesser one in both cases without that friendship.”
Can you tell us about the first recording of Beethoven's cello sonatas you made together?
“The first recording of those we did came out in 1981, 40 years ago. Now, 40 years later, we thought we don't have that much time to waste. We better do them now before we get sick.”
Why was it important to do them again?
“I'm hoping that we changed a lot of little things. I think ultimately they add up to a big change.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma — Hope Amid Tears: Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas (Amazon)
Emanuel Ax (official site)
Yo-Yo Ma (official site)
John Jeter and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra — Price: Symphony No. 3, The Mississippi River & Ethiopia's Shadow in America (Naxos)
New Classical Tracks - John Jeter
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John Jeter spends most of his time as music director and conductor of Arkansas’s Fort Smith Symphony. He’s a big believer in promoting the culture of his state, even if it means going to Europe. For the second recording in his series celebrating the music of Florence Price, Jeter travelled to Vienna to work with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra on his new recording, Price: Symphony No. 3, The Mississippi River & Ethiopia's Shadow in America.
How did you start this series devoted to the music of Florence Price?
“We have an archive with many of Price’s manuscripts at the University of Arkansas, which is one hour north from where I live. When I was able to go up there and see all this music, that was just sitting, I thought it would make a fantastic project.”
Courtesy of artist
John Jeter
What's most intriguing about her work?
“There's a lot of blues harmonies. There are some great, almost revival-like-meeting moments in the 'Juba' movement of Symphony No. 3.”
Can you talk about Mississippi River and what it means?
“This is Smetana, as Muldowney, on steroids. This might be her most expansive orchestral work. It has a film music, cinema graphic connotation to it, which is interesting because Price played piano and organ for silent films.
“It's filled with various spirituals. You go through Native American landscape and New Orleans. You can hear some Steamboat Willie and there's a cowboy hangout you pass by. Of course, there has to be rapids on a river.
“At the end, the river literally empties out into the gulf and it flows very softly to the expanse of the ocean. It's great and I'm so glad she did it this way. Just a sustained chord and a little bit of a harp at the end.”
Can you explain what Ethiopia's Shadow in America means?
“For whatever reason, that name [Ethiopia] became synonymous with thinking about Africa at that time. The idea of slaves coming to America is a weighty and terrible experience. The work attempts to try to understand that. It might look towards some sort of religious or spiritual guidance.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources John Jeter and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra — Price: Symphony No. 3, The Mississippi River & Ethiopia's Shadow in America (Amazon)
John Jeter and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra — Price: Symphony No. 3, The Mississippi River & Ethiopia's Shadow in America (Naxos Direct Store)
John Jeter (official site)
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason —MUSE (Decca)
New Classical Tracks - Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
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British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and her younger brother, Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, have very different personalities. Perhaps, that is why they get along so well. They both have flourishing solo careers and have performed together for years, carefully developing an incredible sense of timing and trust essential for any musical duo. Their first album as a duo, Muse, features two cello sonatas, one by Samuel Barber and the other by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
“We’ve always wanted to record together,” said Isata about working with her brother. “We’ve recorded pieces that we really love, especially the Rachmaninoff, which is a piece we’ve known since we were very small. It’s really exciting to have this album and we spent a lot of time exploring and enjoying the pieces together.”
How did you discover Barber’s Cello Sonata?
Sheku: “It's not well known at all and we discovered it recently. It was my teacher who introduced us to the piece. We both listened to it, loved it and were struck by how immediate it grips you.”
Is there a section in this sonata that you each love to play?
Isata: “There’s many movements in both of the sonatas. I particularly enjoy playing the second movement of the Rachmaninoff and in that movement, the second subject theme. I think it is really beautiful. I just love all the textures in that movement between the instruments.”
Sheku: “It's music that works so well as a whole. They're all part of an overall shape.”
Isata: “Yes, one section wouldn’t be as good because of the section before.”
What is it about Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata that makes it one of your favorite pieces?
Sheku: “It's incredibly beautiful and poetic music. It’s a wonderful piece of chamber music in the way the instruments and voices interact. It's just amazingly well crafted. It’s one of the most enjoyable pieces to perform and listen to. It's filled with some incredibly great melodies. I know that it gives the cello a chance to really sing.”
Can you point out your favorite melody?
Sheku: “My favorite? I would say one of my favorite melodies is the second subject of the first movement. It’s played first by the piano and then the cello. It's wonderful. Rachmaninoff's use of falling close intervals, rising large intervals and the painfulness of falling semitones is really powerful. Then you have these hopeful rising intervals later on in the phrase. It’s such a wonderful relief. I think that's one of the most beautiful melodies and phrases.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason — MUSE (Amazon)
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason — MUSE (Decca Store)
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason — MUSE (House of Music Store)
The Kanneh-Mason (official site)
Isata Kanneh-Mason (official site)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (official site)
Seong-Jin Cho — Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 • Scherzi (DG)
New Classical Tracks - Seong-Jin Cho
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Pianist Seong-Jin Cho became the first South Korean to win First Prize at the Warsaw International Chopin Competition in 2015. Following that award, he immediately recorded Chopin’s First Piano Concerto and the four Ballades with Gianandrea Noseda and the London Symphony Orchestra. Playing with the same orchestra and conductor, Cho has released his new album, Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 • Scherzi.
Why have you returned to the music of Frédéric Chopin?
“I didn’t record Chopin’s music intentionally for five years, because I didn't want to be labeled as a Chopin specialist. I wanted to explore different composers.”
How has your relationship with Chopin changed over the past six years?
“It has been the same. I admire and respect his music, because he was very brave to convey so many of his emotions with his audiences. My style of play has changed in the past six years, but my connection with Chopin has not.”
What new discoveries did you make about his Second Piano Concerto?
“He wrote this piece when he was 20, and at the time he was falling in love. He almost dedicated this piece to her. That it’s so romantic, delicate and dramatic. I always try to take an innocent approach rather than a romantic one.”
In the first movement, your left hand emphasizes the shifting harmonies and your right hand has the melodic line. How challenging is it to make sure that the right hand doesn't take over?
“There's a saying about Chopin's music that we made when we played his music: ‘The left hand should be like a like a tree, and the right has to be the leaves.’ Chopin's music, in general, is also very polyphonic. Not only is the right-hand melody important, but the left-hand melodic line or the inner voice is, as well.”
What is it about these pieces that allows you to feature all four Scherzi on a single program?
“They feel comfortable all in one place. They're musically connected, yet they're all different, but at the same time they're all similar. The fourth Scherzo is my favorite and the hardest. It is joyful, and the middle section is nostalgic.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Seong-Jin Cho — Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 • Scherzi (Amazon)
Seong-Jin Cho — Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 • Scherzi (DG Store)
Seong-Jin Cho (official site)
Jeremy Denk & the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra — Mozart Piano Concertos (Nonesuch)
Pianist Jeremy Denk has finally had the space and time to finish his forthcoming memoir Every Good Boy Does Fine, which will resonate with you if you took piano lessons as a kid. It releases this February, and its timing coincides beautifully with his new album featuring the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Mozart Piano Concertos.
How has Mozart shaped you?
“Actually, both the first and the last chapters of my book are about Mozart. The first chapter is about me listening to the piece Sinfonia Concerto. When I was 12, that piece rocked my world. At the end of the book, I'm recovering from personal loss and burnout. I'm also about to record an album of Mozart concertos with the SPCO.”
Can you talk about Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 and how it is different from his other piano concertos?
“It’s a piece that starts very clearly with a blaze of light that’s in a major key. You don't think it's going to be this sunny, grand, triumphant piece, but within 20 seconds it switches to a tragic opera of utter uncertainty in the terrifying key of C minor. All through the first tutti-section and orchestral passage you feel the music keeps switching at unpredictable intervals between these two perspectives.”
What do you look forward to when you're playing this concerto?
“My favorite moment is in the last movement. In the middle, you have this love sextet between the piano and the woodwinds. We work really hard on that section between the orchestra and the winds. They become opera characters in their own right.
“It is an innocent song at first, but it takes on this intensity, while it loops where you never would expect. It then takes on an unbelievable tragic tone that turns back into light, while it expands in an ecstatic way. It all dissolves back to the theme. That transition is one of the greatest passages of all time.”
Why do you think the Piano Concerto in D Minor is more popular?
“The first and last movements are the most vivid and shockingly iconic music that Mozart ever wrote. It's the most romantic work that Mozart composed. It’s not in the classical style, but you hear the romantic era waiting to explode out.
“The most striking passages in this piece come in the beginning of the last scene where the piano plays the theme and the orchestra starts up after. Usually in Mozart concertos they just repeat the theme that the piano played. But in this case, the orchestra begins to develop and alter the material in a way that is unrecognizable.
“It becomes possessed by the spirit of modulation and the idea leaps all over the orchestra. That passage has an incredible quality to it.”
Watch Now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Jeremy Denk & the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra — Mozart Piano Concertos (Amazon)
Jeremy Denk & the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra — Mozart Piano Concertos (Nonesuch Store)
Jeremy Denk (official site)
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (official site)
ARC Ensemble – Chamber Works by Dmitri Klebanov (Chandos)
“It is very interesting that every composer tells a different story of overcoming difficulties,” said Simon Wynberg, who is the artistic director for the Arc Ensemble. “It’s about planting a flag in the ground and producing marvelous work. It's a really exciting kind of project.”
Chamber works by Dmitri Klebanov isthe fifth recording from the group's Music and Exile series, and it features the Jewish Ukrainian composer Dimitri Klebanov
How did the Yuri Klebanov contribute to this album full of his father’s music?
“He had amazing insights into his father's life. He had anecdotes and letters and notes between Shostakovich his father from when he was a boy. There were all sorts of things that he could tell me about the repertoire and about Dimitri Klebanov’s life. We corresponded for years.
“It was a real shock when he suddenly passed. I know he was really looking forward to the release of the CD because it was the first time in 30 years that a commercial release of his father’s music had happened.
“The album tracks his progress and compositional style. It starts with his fourth quartet, which was completed after the war, and it includes his piano trio and fifth quartet. The later work is more advanced harmonically than the pervious two works.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources ARC Ensemble – Chamber Works by Dmitri Klebanov (Amazon)
ARC Ensemble – Chamber Works by Dmitri Klebanov (Royal Conservatory Music Store)
ARC Ensemble (official site)
Daniil Trifonov – Bach: The Art of Life (DG)
“I think with Bach it's much easier to practice for many hours than with some other composers,“ said Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov, who has always wanted to spend more time with Bach. “It’s so harmonious and everything makes sense, even the most complex polyphony still makes sense.”
On his new recording, Bach: The Art of Life, Trifonov explores the scientific, emotional and spiritual dimensions of the composer. The album is centered around Bach’s late mystical masterpiece, The Art of Fugue.
How does The Art of Fugue reflect on Bach’s life?
“There are so many gravitational points to that piece. There is also so much emotion in this music. It is very interesting how Bach has this certain way of expressing humanity.”
What makes Bach’s Chaconne in D, transcribed by Brahms and written in response to the death of his first wife, Maria Barbara, special?
“There are two famous transcriptions for this piece, one by Ferruccio Busoni and the other by Johannes Brahms. I especially like Brahms’ transcription because it is close to the original. He only uses the left hand and because he does that it feels as if it’s a violinist’s left hand. The violin has to reach for intervals and it’s like that reaching for intervals was present in Brahms’ piano transcription.”
Did you find anything surprising while working on this album?
“We still don't know if all the works attributed to Bach are really composed by him or by other composers. Some of these discoveries were fairly recent. Bist du bei mir, which is last in the song cycle, was for many years thought to be by Bach. In the early 2000s, while cataloging the music of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, they discovered five or six ideas from his opera that Bach must have borrowed. It's surprising that Bach would include this piece in a cycle dedicated to his wife.”
Was it intentional on your part to try to show Bach as an ordinary person?
“Actually, I've had a very interesting discussion with one of the people who run the Bach Museum in Leipzig. They recently discovered some of Bach’s financial papers. It turns out that Bach owned stakes in a coal mine in West Germany. He was a human being and I think that only makes him a more remarkable composer.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Daniil Trifonov – Bach: The Art of Life (Amazon)
Daniil Trifonov – Bach: The Art of Life (DG Store)
Daniil Trifonov (official site)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet – Carte Blanche (Decca)
French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet celebrated his 60th birthday with a trip to Hawaii in September. He also marked the occasion with the release of his new recording, Carte Blanche.
“This was an album where I was given literally carte blanche,” Thibaudet said. “I could choose whatever. It might not have happened without the pandemic, and I did it with the greatest love and joy. I had such a good time doing it. The variety and choice of pieces on this album shows my personality.”
The recording opens with the suite from Pride and Prejudice, and it features important moments. How did you decide which ones to highlight?
“This is something I did with Dario Marianelli. He is an extraordinary composer, and that score is very important and special in my life. That is why I wanted it not only to be on the record, but also start it.
“That piece has opened many doors in my life. It has reached so many people in the world, and I cannot tell you how many people still go to my concerts because of it. I also have people coming to me at the end of the concert to say hi and tell me that that was their first concert. They would say, ‘I just came because I saw your name and your the guy from Pride and Prejudice. I love that score so much.’”
Why did you choose The Lady and the Nightingale, by Enrique Granados, to honor Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha?
“She owned that repertoire completely. It's such beautiful music. The chords are so wonderful. I love the effects of trills mimicking birds. I think it’s really beautiful and fun to play. I had to do something from Larrocha because I have such great admiration for her.”
Did you dedicate a piece to Renée Fleming?
“My playing is in honor of her, because I've learned so much as a an artist from Fleming. It has been the greatest lesson playing with all the other wonderful singers. She has beautiful control of breathing, the legato and of phrasing.
“There is a little story to one of the pieces — my transcription of ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ from Disney's Pinocchio. We actually did a PBS program for New Year's Eve, United in Song: The Resilience of American People. She chose to do ‘When You Wish Upon a Star,’ which has the most touching and beautiful theme.
“I just adore that piece so much. I was thinking, ‘God, I need to play it just for my own pleasure.’ I started incorporating, yet again, the singing line into the piano. I was making progress and I finally came up with the arrangement on this album. It gave me so much joy that I wanted to share it, and that certainly is a special gift for Fleming.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Jean-Yves Thibaudet – Carte Blanche (Amazon)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet – Carte Blanche (Decca Store)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (official site)
Randall Goosby — Roots (Decca)
“I see it as a stroke of luck. I certainly didn't believe that I was capable of whatever level of playing I thought was necessary to be accepted into his program,” reflects violinist Randall Goosby about Itzhak Perlman’s intensive summer music program in 2011. “I was very fortunate to be accepted. It was a turning point in my mind as to whether or not I was going to take music seriously or even continue playing.
“One of the great lessons I got from Perlman was that you have to be moved by the music as the artist, as the performer, because if you are not, how can you expect for an audience to be moved by the music? The clearer the picture is in your mind as to what kind of effect this music has on you — the clearer it’s going to be for the audience.”
Why did you title your debut album Roots?
“One reason is my own personal and cultural roots in African-American music, culture and tradition. But, another reason is American music, specifically, American classical music. It’s the genesis point of Black music and culture going back to blues, jazz and the negro spiritual.”
How did you met Sanford Allen?
“As part of the annual Sphinx Virtuosi tour, I was asked to play the last movement of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's Blue/s Forms, which appears on the Sanford Allen album. The dedicatee of that piece was generous enough to spend some time with me and work on that movement. I was very inspired by his interpretation, his recording of the piece, his experience and being the very first and, at the time, only black violinist in the New York Philharmonic.”
Can you tell me what was unearthed when recording the world premiere of rediscovered music from 2009 by Florence Price?
“I believe that all three of the works on this recording were unearthed in that collection of music, the two fantasies for violin and piano, and Adoration.
“I think the fantasies quickly move through different harmonic areas, different textures and different styles. Price goes from this virtuosic, rhapsodic opening to a rhythmic dancing feel that's infused with chromatic crawling of the late-romantic European harmonies. Then, she goes back to a violin-piano setting of a spiritual.”
How did you meet your double bassist and can you tell me about the piece he wrote for the album?
“I have known Xavier Foley for about 10 years. We first met at the 2010 Sphinx competition where I won the junior division. The following year in 2011, we meet again at my first year at Perlman’s summer music program.
“When we were putting this album together, we understood immediately that it was important to include a living African-American composer. Foley was the first name that popped into my head because I've been wanting to work with them for so long.
“His piece is Shelter Island, which is an homage to our time together on Shelter Island during the Perlman music program. There's a bit of nostalgia in the main theme. There's influence from bluegrass, which Xavier has background in. The work is similar to Price’s, because there's a lot going on, and it happens so seamlessly and naturally that you almost don't catch it.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Randall Goosby — Roots (Amazon)
Randall Goosby (official site)
Jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny learned guitar the informal way, by ear, but he worked with classically trained musicians on his new album, 'Road to the Sun.'
Jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny learned guitar the informal way, by ear, but he worked with classically trained musicians on his new album, 'Road to the Sun.'
Jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny learned guitar the informal way, by ear, but he worked with classically trained musicians on his new album, 'Road to the Sun.'
Jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny learned guitar the informal way, by ear, but he worked with classically trained musicians on his new album, 'Road to the Sun.'
The Verona Quartet — Diffusion (Azica)
“I found a special bond. I felt as though I was meant to be the voice that glued everybody together, highly influential, but behind the scenes. I loved that. I even wrote my college entrance essay about wanting to play in a string quartet. Of course, at the time, I had no idea what that really meant,” said violist Abigail Rojansky of the Verona Quartet. That college entrance essay was for Oberlin College, where the Verona Quartet is now serving as quartet-in-residence.
According to Rojansky, music is just one avenue for telling a meaningful story. Its name, the Verona Quartet, pays tribute to Shakespeare, another great storyteller. She is joined by cellist Jonathan Dormand to talk about the stories that make up their debut recording, Diffusion.
Why is exploring folk traditions on this album important to you?
Jonathan: “It’s the end and the beginning of a period of time where you have national identities in a style of playing.
“It's all about how you take from one culture, explore it and made it your own. That is what we've tried to do. We looked back to fantastic music and learned from its traditions. But, how do we make it our own and do we try to put our own stamp on it?”
Why is Maurice Ravel's String Quartet considered a masterpiece?
Abigail:“The piece is masterfully written, but in terms of form, its breaking with tradition while building upon history. He greatly respected and heard the Debussy quartet. Debussy only wrote one String Quartet, which Ravel loved, but he thought that there were aspects of it that could have been improved.
“Ravel’s String Quartet was also met with criticism, especially the last movement which people thought didn't have enough of a melody. It was too fast and in an uncomfortable rhythm. Now we look at it and say, ‘Oh, my goodness, this last movement is so spectacular.’“
Can you talk about how Karol Szymanowski creates his unique voice in his String Quartet No. 2?
Jonathan: “It has this hyper-romanticism about it. I just don't know another composer that writes incredibly lyrical, but at the same time offers delicious harmonies. He has his own unique take on everything. I'm quite obsessed with his piece.
“The second movement also blasts us out of our seats. I'm not going to lie. I was listening and went, ‘Whoa!’ You can hear the power and the forcefulness in the music.”
How does Leos Janacek’s passion for unrequited love come through in his String Quartet No. 2?
Abigail: “One energized idea will break and suddenly he'll say something completely different with an entirely different emotional character, subject, or mode of expression. He does that in this quartet and that's part of what makes it so incredibly dramatic. Suddenly, it goes black and then there's something completely different. Nobody else could write like that before him.”
Watch now
Resources The Verona Quartet — Diffusion (Amazon)
The Verona Quartet (official site)
Isata Kanneh-Mason — Summertime (Decca)
Isata Kanneh-Mason is the oldest of seven incredibly talented musical siblings. They’ve all studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and Kanneh-Mason received an Elton John Scholarship.
“I've never really been to a pop concert and to be on stage in that setting is so different from what I'm used to. It really brought me into a different world,” said Kanneh-Mason when she not only met Elton John, she got to perform with him.
While she enjoys pop music, her comfort zone is in the world of classical music. She recently released her second solo piano recording exploring American music , Summertime.
How does your album illustrate the diversity of American music in the 20th century?
“I went from Samuel Barber to Amy Beach, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to George Gershwin and wanted to represent as many corners as I possibly could. To be American is like being British in the sense that it's not a race. It's loads of different races that have culturally been living together. Either they've moved there, or they've grown up there. There is diversity within the title of being American. That's what I wanted to show on the album.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Isata Kanneh-Mason — Summertime (House of Music)
Isata Kanneh-Mason — Summertime (Amazon)
Isata Kanneh-Mason (official site)
JoAnn Falletta & the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra — The Four Seasons / The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (Beau Fleuve)
When the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra took the stage for their season opening concert last September, there was no audience in the hall due to the pandemic. Their loyal fans were watching the concert online.
Conductor JoAnn Falletta had to switch gears quickly.
“Initially, we had a very big concert, and we pull out all the stops when we give our opening,” she said. “But, of course, that was not possible. We decided that the most thrilling thing we could do for our audience was to feature Nikki Chooi, our new concertmaster, performing The Four Seasons.”
That performance is featured on their latest recording, The Four Seasons / The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
Why was it important to include The Four Seasons?
“It had to do with Chooi's performance of it, which was thrilling. He puts his own 21st-century voice into it. He was reveling, seeing a sense of humor and loving the music. But, he was not burdened by past performances. He was playing from his heart.
“This piece was written almost 300 years ago, and it is still relevant. The coming alive in the spring, the voices of the birds, the summer thunderstorms and the drinking wine is affirming to us about how we understand Antonio Vivaldi. We felt that we had a connection with that music, because it gave us a feeling that life would go on. We can get through this.”
What made guest violinist Tessa Lark a good fit for Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires?
“It’s about the composer’s background. Piazzolla’s family were immigrants who moved to Argentina from Italy. He also grew up in Harlem during the jazz era. He studied with Alberto Ginastera and went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger. Piazzolla is a complex prism of music, and Lark is the same.
“She not only plays classical, but she also plays bluegrass and jazz. Her loose and comfortable approach to playing Piazzolla made it really swing.
“The composer said the tango is a sad feeling disguised as a dance. He knew it was the music of immigrants and poor people who knew they would never go home again. But in the tango, they found their soul. They found a way of understanding themselves. Piazzolla knew the sad core of the tango, and Lark was able to bring that to life.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources JoAnn Falletta & the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra — The Four Seasons / The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (BPO Store)
JoAnn Falletta (official site)
Inbal Segev – 20 Pieces for 2020 (Avie)
When the global pandemic shut down concert halls and live performances last year, cellist Inbal Segev knew she couldn’t just sit at home and do nothing. That’s when she and her husband drafted a plan to commission 20 composers to write 20 new works for cello in 2020. The first recording in this four-volume project was recently released.
“It was ambitious, but I realized quickly that it's a project that's going to take a couple of years,” she says. “Composers need time to cook; they need time to think about things. And then I needed time to work on the on the pieces. And since there's 20, we didn't book all of them at once. First I reached out to my friends and the people who are more local and were obvious choices to me. And then I started listening and venturing out to a lot of people who I've never heard of before even.”
And 20 new pieces. That means 20 new pieces for you to learn, too. Are you excited about that? Or maybe slightly overwhelmed?
“It seemed like a piece of cake. And we just started reaching out because my schedule was open. But some of the pieces are easier, technically; some are very challenging.”
One of the pieces that really captured my attention is the one by Sophia Bass, Taal-Naad naman for cello, tabla and tanpura. Tell me about this young Chicago-based composer.
“During the first months of the pandemic, her father passed away, not from COVID, from a routine operation. Just broke my heart. So she had to stop composing for a couple of months. But she came through, and she wrote this beautiful piece.”
I know this piece gave you a chance to work with some unfamiliar instruments, and it gave you a chance to improvise. What was that experience like for you?
“I'm not an improviser, usually, so I took a lesson from a special cellist who specializes in Indian music. It was fascinating. It kept me on my toes.”
The piece by Timo Andrius is called Ajita, for cello and piano. The composer is at the piano with you. What was that like to get to work collaboratively, not just with the composer telling you about the piece, but actually performing the piece with him?
“He muted some strings and plucked in the string inside of the piano so that the cello sonata and the piano really melded together in a unique way. He also had some special techniques for me. I used nail pizzicato, which I've never done before, as I had to grow my thumbnail — very funny, as suddenly I looked like a guitarist.”
Conductor Marin Alsop recommended that Michigan composer James Lee III be considered for this project. Why did she make that recommendation?
“He writes so well for cello. He really writes idiomatically. If you hear this piece, it's beautifully written.
“I cried when I heard the recording. And I usually hate to hear myself play and definitely hate editing my own recordings. And I don't cry easily hearing myself, that's for sure. So, I thought that was a testament to how beautiful he wrote the piece and how poignant and to the point, and really how it reflected the difficult time.”
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To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Inbal Segev – 20 Pieces for 2020 (Amazon)
Inbal Segev (official site)
Andrew Von Oeyen — Bach — Beethoven (Warner Classics)
“The first question was not, ‘What should I play?’ It was, ‘Should I even practice?’” said pianist Andrew von Oeyen when the global pandemic shut everything down in 2020. “Do I even want to practice? Because, the whole thing was such a shock to all of us.”
Then he, who lives both in Paris and in Los Angeles, discovered a silver lining, which became the basis for his latest recording, Bach — Beethoven.
How did you switch gears due to the pandemic and end up making this recording with this repertoire?
“Originally, I had planned to record three Ludwig van Beethoven sonatas in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven, but then the pandemic hit, lockdown occurred and concerts were canceled.
“So when I went to the piano, I didn't really know what I'd play. I had a list of scores, a pile of scores on, the piano. I just naturally pulled out a score of Bach and said, ‘You know what, this is music I don't play very often. Let's just see where it goes.’ It turned out that this music immediately appealed to me.
“I found it both timely and timeless. I ditched one of the Beethoven sonatas and replaced it with this beautiful, expansive overture in the French style of Bach.”
How is the music of Bach good for you during a time of chaos like the pandemic?
“This music expresses a universal emotion. I needed something that seemed bigger than us. There was a spiritual dimension to it. We needed to cling to something, and I felt somehow more hope with Bach than any other composer.”
How did you choose the Bach pieces that appear on this recording?
“Not only am I recording Bach for the first time in my life, I'm recording a piece I've never performed before. The overture in the French style is an anomaly in his repertoire, because it is so French. I think I chose it for its freshness and because I was just always fascinated by this kind of French style from the court of Louis XIV, which is unique for Bach.”
Why did you chose to still include Beethoven on the recording?
“I was riding this wave of inspiration from Bach and Beethoven was influenced so much by Bach. I just took some of the Bach clarity and brought that to the Beethoven. The second wave was a chance to unleash everything. I really wanted an outlet for all of that energy, and I don't think there's a better outlet than the Beethoven Appassionato.”
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To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Andrew Von Oeyen — Bach — Beethoven (Amazon)
Andrew Von Oeyen (Official site)
JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra — Florent Schmitt: La Tragedie de Salome/Musique sur l’eau/Oriane et le Prince d’Amour/Légende (Naxos)
“It was like a treasure box of music that I didn’t know at all,” said conductor JoAnn Falletta after scholar Phillip Nones introduced her to the musical scores of Florent Schmitt. “A true colorist, but with more vivid colors, perhaps, than Debussy and Ravel. He's red blooded and he's French, but he's borrowing every way of making music from the German and Russian masters. It just has to be heard to be believed.”
Faletta’s new album, Florent Schmitt, celebrates the composers 150-year birth anniversary, which was in 2020. Luckily, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra had just performed Florent Schmitt’s music in concert before the pandemic started and that performance became this new album.
Could you talk about his ballet that was influenced by Salome and how he approached it?
“It is a tragic tale, and he was inspired by Richard Strauss's opera. There's no question that might have been the genesis for it, but his Salome is quite different. It’s more French and less brutal.
“Salome sings a wordless song in Schmitt’s version. We had a beautiful mezzo soprano, Susan Platts, sing that with a chorus of young handmaidens. We used our Buffalo Girls Choir for that. There still is a tragic end, but it's very sensuous music.”
Can you talk about how the music reflects the storyline of Oriane et le Prince d’Amour?
“Oriane is an incredibly beautiful woman or maybe the most beautiful woman in the world. Men are drawn to her, but she herself never falls in love. She never gives her heart to anyone. She feels nothing for them. At one point, the prince of love arrives at the palace, and she falls in love with him. But he does not give his heart to her, and she is destroyed by that.
“He clothed these wonderful, seductive scenes and wild dancing. I've never seen the ballet. I can only imagine what it was like because the music is so powerful. It’s about this woman who was dancing with one man after the next and then it's finally undone by love itself.”
Do you know the story behind Légende?
“I know that there was this woman who asked for the work to be made. She also commissioned Debussy to write his famous piece for saxophone. The original version is beautifully written for saxophone. The French have a special feeling for the saxophone, but then he rewrote it for viola and finally for violin.
“He is the most important French composer that you have never heard of. People are intrigued by that because we know so many French composers. We've never heard of him. He is so important and wonderful.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra — Florent Schmitt: La Tragedie de Salome/Musique sur l’eau/Oriane et le Prince d’Amour/Légende (Amazon)
JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra — Florent Schmitt: La Tragedie de Salome/Musique sur l’eau/Oriane et le Prince d’Amour/Légende (Naxos)
JoAnn Falletta (Official site)
Jeni Slotchiver — American Heritage (ZOHO)
“Many people thought that this was the right time to do this,” said pianist Jeni Slotchiver on her new album, American Heritage. “I did it before, but the music was relevant then as it is now. My African American students had long wanted me to record this music. I was concerned with how they are going to take me recording this music. My students said, ‘Just do it. You play it and just record it.’”
Slotchiver is a teacher who was born in a small town in South Carolina. She’s built a career out of musical exploration and in 2018 she recorded American Heritage but it was delayed due to the pandemic. It pays homage primarily to African American composers of the 19th and early 20th century whose works laid the foundations of later forms of music such as jazz, blues and R&B.
How does this music reflect everything from the Civil War to the civil rights movement?
“I had a group of three pieces, and I called them ‘my holy water to Trinity.’ The pieces were ‘Deep River,’ ‘Troubled Water’ and ‘Down by the Riverside.’
“‘Deep River,’ to me, is a story of suffering. ‘Troubled Water’ has veiled references to streambeds, and how to avoid the blood hands for enslaved people who might be escaping the deep river. Crossing the river Jordan could mean escaping, getting out of their misery and pain, but can also be going to heaven and leaving all that suffering. ‘Down by the Riverside’ existed before the Civil War, but it wasn't published until 1918. That piece became synonymous with freedom in the civil rights movement.
“Besides our rich history of indigenous music from the North American Indians, this is our greatest body of American folkloric music. I really hadn't thought of it as that until I learned that ‘Shenandoah’ and ‘Swanee River,’ what most people think ‘Camptown Races’ is, were not American folk songs, but originated as shanty songs.
“From 1820 to 1860 when the clipper ships left Baltimore, they had what they call ‘checkered’ crews. They were black and white crews. That's where the white sailors and dock workers learned these songs. It just fascinated me. Then I realized everything on the album, except for ‘Union,’ came here or transformed itself in some way or another from enslaved people.
“I recorded this in 2018 and then the pandemic happened. I maintained a very strong emotional connection to this music, and it's never changed. I've never gotten tired of any of these pieces.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Jeni Slotchiver — American Heritage (Amazon)
Jeni Slotchiver (Official site)
Barthold Kuijken & Immanuel Davis — La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV (Naxos)
When asked what flutist Immanuel Davis discovered about himself during the pandemic he said, “That my love of the flute and my love of music has to be from within and I also learned how much my students propel me. I really came face to face with how much they are giving back to me.”
Davis is a flute professor at the University of Minnesota. He got the job 20 years ago as a recent graduate of Juilliard while still freelancing in New York City. Around the same time, he was offered a Fulbright scholarship to study Baroque flute in Holland, but Davis figured out a way to do both. Now, those experiences have come full circle to inform his fourth recording, La Magnifique. On this new release, which features music from the Court of Louis XIV, he’s joined by his good friend and mentor Belgian flutist Barthold Kuijken.
Did you discover anything surprising as you were putting together this recording?
“I discovered the great variety that was in this repertoire. In the early part of the 18th-century, the flute might play the melody of a song and then the singer would sing it. The flutist role would be to inflect the songs so you could hear the words.
“Also, I discovered the wonderful variety of moods, characters and feelings of this repertoire. We sort of think of this music as a little bit stilted and old fashioned, but the reality is that these people were just as passionate and feeling as we are today.”
Can you talk about the passion and emotion in the music?
“It's deep. It's below the surface, but it's there. It never lasts for exceptionally long. There's a great quote that describes the flutes, especially early flutes in French opera, ‘The flutes moaned and groaned with the sounds of unrequited love.’ I think that's all over the place in this music.”
How do some of those songs contribute to the development of the flute?
“The first song, ‘The Triumph of Love,’ which is from a Jean-Baptiste Lully opera, is the first piece of music that said this should be played on the flute. So, we had to play it on the album. Another piece that I play is the sonata by Michael de la Barre. It’s one of the earliest sonatas for flute, which also includes the viola da gamba and harpsichord. I love this piece and in the second movement it portraits a friendly and happy — just walking through the meadow on a really gorgeous low humidity day.”
Why did you close the recording with Suite No. 2 in G minor, by Marin Marais?
“This piece is so French and expressive. The work builds in such a wonderful way, and it has a passacaglia in the end. It's like a chaconne with this repeating bassline that just continues to develop as it takes you on a long journey. It wraps up everything that we have started on this recording from the smaller songs to the sonatas and duets. It just finishes out everything really beautifully.”
Watch Now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Barthold Kuijken & Immanuel Davis — La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV (Amazon)
Barthold Kuijken & Immanuel Davis — La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV (Presto)
Immanuel Davis (University of Minnesota)
Pacifica Quartet — Contemporary Voices (Cedille)
“I can relate so much to these three pieces after going through this pandemic,” said violist Mark Holloway reflecting on, Contemporary Voices, the most recent release from Pacifica Quartet. “Each one has something quite unique to say.”
The recording features three contemporary pieces commissioned by the quartet, which won a Grammy for best Chamber Music Performance. The ensemble is also opening the MN Beethoven Festival on June 27.
Can you talk about ‘Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory — String Quartet No.3’ by Shulamit Ran and the visual art that inspired it?
“There was an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called ‘Glitter and Zoom German Portraits from the 1920s.’ I think this was an inspiration to Ran. The quartet was in residence at the museum, and they wanted music that had a connection to the visual art.
“There's a German-Jewish painter named Felix Nussbaum who perished in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Ran wanted to show in music what a normal life, with its joys and sorrows, and ups and downs might be like. Daily life can be torn apart by cruelty, war and hatred. Nussbaum keep painting in the camps during the war. The struggle to survive, create, express and identify is really powerful.”
Can you talk about Jennifer Higdon’s work Voices that she dedicated to the quartet after collaborating with them at a summer festival?
“It's a real knockout of a piece. It starts off with this relentless, crazy frenzy of energy called ‘Blitz.’ It's a real explosion. Higdon was saying that a lot of pieces start out soft and then loud. She wanted to see what it might be like the other way around.”
Is it true that the combination of instruments on Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet isn’t a combination you hear often?
“I too, was unsure what it would sound like. The fact that we're playing with someone else is already something to celebrate. You're joining forces and making music together with a friend. In this case, it's her terrific colleague, Otis Murphy, who's a saxophone professor at Indiana University. You hear the jazziness and different sounds coming from her pen. The piece has a celebratory nature to it, and it just really seems appropriate after all we've been through.”
Watch Now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources Pacifica Quartet — Contemporary Voices (Cedille)
Pacifica Quartet — Contemporary Voices (Amazon)
Pacifica Quartet (Official site)
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (Official site)
Jennifer Higdon (Official site)
Shulamit Ran (Theodore Presser)
The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc — Bonfrost (NFB Records)
“There's just always been a lot of fiddle players in Shetland,” said Scottish fiddler Kevin Henderson and member of the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc. “My grandfather was a huge fan of fiddle music. That's how I got the bug.”
Shetland is a small community with a rich fiddling tradition that goes back hundreds of years. The rest of the band, Norwegian fiddler Olav Luksengård Mjelva and Swedish fiddler Anders Hall represent a blending of the world’s richest fiddling traditions in their latest recording, Bonfrost, a Shetland word meaning “a hard frost.”
“It's a beautiful sight when the ground is frozen and you get the smoke effect going through the valley,” Henderson said. “We call it trowie. The trow are little people that live under the ground in Shetland. They are a close relative to the Norwegian troll.”
Can you both talk about the different Scandinavian fiddle traditions you bring to the trio and what makes them unique?
Kevin:“Historically, Shetland has a lot of links to Norway because we used to belong to them at one point. In the middle 1400’s the Shetland and Orkney Islands were loaned to Scotland, as part of a dowry. They were never given back. But we've kept a lot of the culture. Scottish and Irish music came and changed the tradition a bit in Shetland. The early music has a lot of similarities to some of the old Norwegian music.”
Olav:“Norwegian and Swedish music are quite similar, and you will find a lot of local variations in traditions within both countries. The most challenging thing for us is the Shetland music, which is different with more reels and jigs. We don't really have that in Norway and Sweden.”
What sets the Hardanger fiddle apart from other fiddles?
Olav: “The main difference is that it has sympathetic strings, which you don't play, but they are under the fingerboard. It's usually four or five sympathetic strings and it creates a nice reverberation. The fiddle is also tuned a bit higher. In Hardanger fiddle music, the fiddle is a solo instrument and it's up to the fiddler to make their own version of the tune. It becomes an art to make a good tune.”
Can you tell me about the original song Adam’s' Nightmare?
Kevin: “Adam Sutherland is one of Scotland's top fiddle players and composers. I play in a band called Session A9 with him. He sent me a text message one day with an audio file attached. He wanted to know if the tune in the audio file was a tune that I taught him because he'd had a dream that I had taught him this tune and we were playing it, but I didn't recognize it at all. So, I decided to write this tune in response called Adam's Nightmare.”
What is the story behind Don't Drink and Dance?
Olav:“The real story behind the name is that the fiddle tuning is quite specialized in the piece. The strings are D-D-A-D. I wanted a name to play with those letters, so “Don't Drink and Dance” was the best thing I could produce. There is some truth in it as well. It's a bad idea to drink and dance.”
Watch now
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc — Bonfrost (NFB Records)
The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc — Bonfrost (Amazon Digital)
The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc (Official site)
This week on New Classical Tracks, in celebration of Black Music Appreciation Month we revisit violist Paul Laraia of Catalyst Quartet discussing the joys and privileges of honoring composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in the ensemble's first recording in a series commemorating Black composers.
Conductor Craig Hella Johnson lets his imagination run wild with the Austin-based vocal ensemble Conspirare. He leads them and three different guitar quartets in their new album, The Singing Guitar.
Principal violist Rebecca Albers of the Minnesota Orchestra shares her love of being in the middle voice of the ensemble. She leads the viola section in the opening of the Minnesota Orchestra’s new album, Mahler 10. E
Guitarist Miloš Karadaglić feels as if a fairy tale has come true in his new album, The Moon & the Forest.
Nathalie Stutzmann/Orfeo 55 — Contralto (Warner Classics/Erato)
“Oh là là! I’m actually living my dream,” said conductor and contralto Nathalie Stutzmann. “My two biggest goals in life were to be a singer and a conductor, and I am just living my dream.”
Nathalie Stutzmann believes that every dream can come true and she’s living proof. It was a challenge for a young woman growing up in Paris to accomplish her goals, but she didn’t give up. She went on to become the first woman to conduct an ensemble while singing and that’s precisely what she does on her new recording, Contralto, with the ensemble she founded, Orfeo 55.
Unfortunately, that ensemble disbanded after this recording because of Stutzmann’s new role as principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and her conducting debut at the Metropolitan Opera this fall.
Why is the contralto voice so uncommon and difficult?
“The sound of the contralto is the voice of Earth and of the soul. I personally worked on my voice to make it as flexible and colorful as possible. The contralto register is like a wild and heavy stone. When you start you really need to work to make it light and flexible.”
Why did you want to make this recording?
“I wanted to do a tribute to and say thank you for this voice I have been living with for so many years. I learned how to love it and develop it. I wanted to show what an extraordinary instrument it is.
“I first started doing research looking for contraltos. Then I watched for who was composing music for them and which parts. That's how I discovered these rare works. It was from my research.
“My goal was to find unknown arias which are also beautiful, like Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘Cara Addio’ from Griselda. It's just a marvelous aria. We found a part of the score and I decided to orchestrate it with guitar. It became a beautiful romance, unbelievably soft and very tender. The creativity within this repertoire is so extraordinary.
“It was exciting to show that another aria from Vivaldi, ‘Gelido in Ogni Vena,’ which I thought was written for a male voice was actually written and dedicated to a woman. It was exciting to rediscover that.”
Can you talk about the call-and-response between you and the woodwinds in Antonio Caldara’s aria ‘Sotto un Faggio’?
“This is actually a worldwide premiere. It's so beautiful. ‘Sotto un Faggio’ is an aria I discovered because of its tonal colors. The work has a dialog between the voice and the woodwinds. It’s special because the woodwinds are comprised of flutes, a bassoon and a chalumeau, which is the predecessor to the clarinet. I find the colors of those instruments to be close to the soft middle register of the contralto voice.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch now
Resources Nathalie Stutzmann/Orfeo 55 — Contralto (Amazon)
Nathalie Stutzmann (Official site)
Gregory Harrington: Glass Hour; with Mark Shapiro and the Janáček Philharmonic (Estile Records)
One thing we can all agree on is that the pandemic has impacted how we perceive the passage of time. The days seem to go slow, while the year goes by quickly. Maybe you feel as if you’ve been stuck in a Ground Hog Day scenario. Violinist Gregory Harrington decided to explore the concept of time through two works by Philip Glass on his new recording, Glass Hour.
Harrington, with conductor Mark Shapiro, traveled to the Czech Republic to make the recording with the Janáček Philharmonic.
Can you talk about the conception of this project?
Harrington: “I had heard The American Four Seasons a number of years ago, and there are two beautiful recordings. That work really spoke to me and I said, ‘I can actually bring something completely unique to this. Something that hasn't been recorded or that hasn't been said. It doesn't really matter if people like it or not. This recording is purely me.’ That was the first thing. The second part was that this was a 40- to 45-minute concerto. How do we round out the disc?
“I've loved making transcriptions. I've been making them for the last 10 years, whether it's solo Bach, Johnny Cash or Nine Inch Nails. Having heard The Hours, you always feel a tremendous emotional connection with the work. I decided that the best thing was to create a new work based on The Hours, a concert suite for violin and orchestra, very much in the vein with violinists Nathan Milstein and Jascha Heifetz’s transcriptions from decades ago.
I was fortunate enough to have worked with Eric Friedman. I studied with him for a number of years, and he was a pupil of Heifetz and Milstein.”
Can you talk about how Glass’ exploration of time offers you freedom as the performer of his piece The American Four Seasons?
Harrington: “When Glass recorded and premiered this with violinist Robert McDuffie, they had different ideas of what movements represented which seasons. Glass left this up for the audience to decide for themselves what movement correlates to which season.
“I know Mark and I have spoken about this a little bit — I had very strong feelings about the second movement being ‘my’ winter. I just thought that feeling of starkness represented winter.
“The fourth movement is definitely summer, and it has a hustle-and-bustle-virtuoso-nonstop flow to it. It is different for everyone, but I think it's lovely that it's put up to the audience to make their own opinions and conclusions.”
How is it that the Janáček Philharmonic is so well suited to perform the music of Philip Glass?
Shapiro: “They had so many intuitions about how they wanted to play and sound. There was one moment where we were trying to elicit a certain mood of tenderness. I looked at the cellist, who was a bit grumpy-looking, and I asked the interpreter what the Czech word was for lullaby. The cellist recognized the word and he just melted. The next time he played it it had such humanity.”
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch now
Resources Gregory Harrington: Glass Hour; with Mark Shapiro and the Janáček Philharmonic (Bandcamp)
Gregory Harrington: Glass Hour; with Mark Shapiro and the Janáček Philharmonic (Amazon)
Gregory Harrington (Official site)
Mark Shapiro (Official site)
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava (Official site)
Violinist Gil Shaham teams up with the cellist and conductor of the Knights, Eric Jacobsen, to forge a friendship through their new album, Beethoven, Brahms: Violin Concertos.
Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov is used to traveling and performing as an international soloist. During the global pandemic, he's been staying close to home, but among live and streamed concerts, he has released a new recording that highlights Russian composers from about 1880 to 1925, 'The Silver Age.'
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has accomplished a lot during the pandemic, even though she may not agree. Her second recording within a year, 'An American Mosaic,' is dedicated to those affected by the lockdown.
Violinist Hilary Hahn had her residency with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, and her time there is showcased in her new album 'Paris.' It explores pieces that remind her of the time spent there.
Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor explores the music of Franz Liszt on his latest release. On 'Liszt,' he explores his connection to the composer and pays tribute to his grandfather.
Soprano Melissa Holm-Johansen re-creates some of her favorite song cycles of Edvard Grieg in English. Her new recording, 'Edvard Grieg — Songs From the Heart,' gives us a peek at Norwegian culture.
Baritone Will Liverman hopes listeners will learn to explore more music by Black composers, just as he did, with his new album, 'Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers.'
Mandolinist Avi Avital hits the reset button on life to switch focus to his new album, 'Art of the Mandolin.' He shares his excitement of bringing together the plucked string family on New Classical Tracks.
Clarinetist Mark Dover and bassoonist Monica Ellis from Imani Winds have created a legacy promoting Black excellence in classical music. Their new recording, 'Bruits,' is no different. Find out more on this week's New Classical Tracks.
Matt Haimovitz finally has his cello back more than a year and a half after breaking it, just in time for the release of a new recording with pianist Mari Kodama.
This week on New Classical Tracks, pianist Orli Shaham talks about the joy she found recording all 18 of the Mozart piano sonatas during the pandemic.
This week on New Classical Tracks, horn player Sarah Willis talks about her project with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra, 'Mozart Y Mambo,' which presents Mozart with a Cuban flair.
Cellist Ofra Harnoy talks about the love for her new home in Newfoundland and how it inspired her album "On The Rock."
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma talks about the feeling and emotions that went into his new album, 'Songs of Comfort and Hope,' and how the music can help us weather the storm of the pandemic.
On New Classical Tracks, we love sharing with you the most exciting new recordings every year. And, when you enter our weekly CD giveaways, you show us how excited you are about these recordings, too. Find out which albums made the list of 10 most coveted new releases of 2020.
This week on New Classical Tracks, Deondra and Greg Brown from the 5 Browns share the joy and pain of revisiting childhood memories for the group's new album.
This week on New Classical Tracks, violist Milena Pajaro Van de Stadt from Dover Quartet shares the joy of revisiting the Beethoven String Quartets for the group's upcoming album.
This week on New Classical Tracks, conductor Desmond Earley talks about his new holiday album with the Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, and how important our shared American/Irish traditions can be to music.
Celebrating Beethoven's 250th, this week on New Classical Tracks, we revisit Stephen Hough discussing the recording process of his latest release, a 3-CD set of Beethoven's piano concertos, and how he made them relevant to the 21st century.
Cellist Jonah Jim and pianist Sean Kennard team up to record their first album together while reminiscing about studying at the Curtis Institute of Music.
It has been about 10 years since Helene Grimaud has recorded any Mozart. Her latest release generates a fascinating dialogue between Mozart and the Ukrainian-born contemporary composer Valentin Silvestrov.